Wing of Chance
by Special Wings
Summary: The present was bleak and the future was no more. Thus, he was forced to act on his last resort without even thinking about the consequences on himself. The 'if' was never end but he would use these wing to use the most chances he had. He would do anything for his dear one. Time Travel Fic!
1. Last Resort

**Disclaimer:** I don't own KHR, if I own it, I would continue the manga story ^^

**Warning: **Time travel, grammatical error, OOC (?), hole in the plot, weird facts and theories

* * *

Crimson red. That was all he saw. The color of blood and fire. He could smell blood and burned flesh. The flames of fire made the surroundings hot, but he only felt cold. He stood alone in the middle of corpses of allies and enemies. Some were even in a really bad condition, with a grotesque appearance. He was the only survivor, or so he thought. His body was full of wounds. His clothes are tattered and dirtied with bloods and earth. His expression was pained. No, it was not because his painful wounds. He did not even register the ache from the wounds anymore. It was because of the pain of losing everything, his family and famiglia, his brothers, his sisters, his allies, and his home. The man looked around and could not help but blame himself. If only he was prepared, if only he acted quickly, if only he was stronger. There were many situations that he hoped to change. He felt regret and guilt.

Vongola had fallen and so had its allies. Millefiore, Shimon, Cavallone, Varia and even Vindice and Arcobaleno had fallen. No one had been spared from the tragedy but him. The strongest mafia famiglia in the world was no more. The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, they were full of strong resolution and determination. He had decided that he would take the risk and would not think about the consequences for him. In truth, he knew what his decision would be since a long time ago, but he hoped he would not come to act on his decision. The recent progress just forced him to act and strengthened his resolve. He would do anything for his family even if it took his life. It was the time for his last resort. He would stop the living nightmares. He would take the burden and be the sacrifice.

The man pulled out his necklace and took it off. The necklace had an unique pendant. It was a wing, but not in pairs, only the left side. Each stroke of feathers was in different colors. There were seven in total and had the color of rainbow. The wing hung on a sphere resembling like a clock. As he held the pendant in his fist, he could feel the hum of the others flames inside the pendant which made him smile sadly. The thrumming of the flames also helped him to strengthen his resolve. He started to concentrate and channeled his remaining flames to the pendant. He could feel his flame started to wither and flicker. It became unstable, but he could not stop now. He thought of his families, their smile, their banter with each other, their unique characters, the quirkiness, the fireworks, the fun and difficult times, the fights, their teamwork, their love and every other thing that could strengthen his resolution. But it still was not enough. He needed more flames or the plan would not work.

Suddenly, there was bright light from another flame. No, it was not from the fire. It was different. The flame started to take shape and became a figure of another man.

"**_Decimo_**,"said the figure, making the man looked up. "**_Is it time?_**" the figure asked.

"Yes Primo. It is," answered the man, the Decimo.

"**_Are you sure?_**" Primo looked at the Decimo, trying to see his resolve.

"I am sure and certain. This is must be done. This is what I must do," answered the Decimo with certainty. Seeing his resolve, Primo only nodded.

"**_Then, let me help you_**,"offered Primo. Decimo opened his fist, giving access to the pendant for Primo. Just before they started their work, they felt another presence.

"Kawahira-san, you can come out," said Decimo.

"Your intuition is sure amazing, Vongola," replied the said person.

"Thank you for coming, Kawahira-san," said the brunet.

"That's okay. After all it is my duty to protect the Tri-ni-set and the balance of the world," Kawahira said as he threw a pouch to the Decimo which he caught and then opened. He saw some chains inside of it. He knew what it used for and he knew he would need it. "That's from Bermuda. The pouch also had the same effect." Hearing the name, the brunet smiled sadly.

"Thank you, Kawahira-san. Now, shall we start, gentlemen?" The three of them then started the ritual and poured their flames to the pendant.

The wing pendant started to glow brighter and brighter. It beat with light from the fire. It was so bright that it made the surroundings look as if it was already morning. Then suddenly the light was absorbed to the Decimo's body until it vanished. The Decimo could feel power inside his body. It burned brightly inside him. He knew his body could not contain all these powers, but he must do it. He would try to contain it as long as he can. He would try to suppress the power. He could feel the power build on his body until it reached its peak and he knew that it was time. He opened his amber eyes and looked at his companies. 'Thank you' he mouthed.

"Good luck Sawada Tsunayoshi," replied Kawahira as he smiled forlornly.

The man with the title of Vongola Decimo was engulfed by the flames and vanished into thin air. His last words echoed in the world before the world itself crumbled down.

"**Vi prego di perdonarmi e aspettare per me, mia cara famiglia**"

(Please forgive me and wait for me, my family)

* * *

A brunet boy with spiky hair woke up from his sleep suddenly. He immediately sat up, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Gasping for air, he clenched his chest.

'It was only a dream, wasn't it?' He tried to calm himself and think clearly. After a few minutes he was calmed down

. "No, it wasn't a dream, it was reality," mumbled the boy.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't only a dream, Tsunayoshi-kun," someone suddenly said, making the boy jumped up and looked up. He then saw a blonde man with similar face as him and spiky hair.

"Giotto-jiisan." It slipped from the boy before he could think about it. He still could not think clearly and was vulnerable because of the dream. His emotions were in turmoil. The slip made the blonde male smile.

"Then, the plan worked. Did we succeed on the first part?" asked the boy uncertainly. Giotto nodded.

"Yes," affirmed him. It was all that needed to broke the dam. Without even realizing it, the tears fell to the brunet's pale face and then to his clenched hands which were on his lap.

"Eh?" was the confused reaction from the boy. "Tears?" He looked at the tears dumbly. "I am crying? Stupid me. Dame-Tsuna will always be Dame-Tsuna." He said as he tried to rub his eyes to stop the tears. His actions were in vain as the tears would not stop falling. "The tears just won't stop, huh?" He hid his face behind his palms. However, his hands were pulled out by his ancestors.

Giotto wiped out the tears from Tsuna's face and said in soft and loving voice, "It's okay to cry, Tsunayoshi. You can let it all out." Giotto's words acted as a trigger for Tsuna for he started to sob and wail. Tsuna cried his heart out, all of his grief, sadness, regret, guilt,and broken promises. Giotto then pulled Tsuna to his embrace. He rubbed Tsuna's back and whispered sweet nothings to Tsuna, trying to reassure him. "Sssh, it's alright. This time, everything will be alright. I'm here, Tsuna." In return, Tsuna cried harder and clenched to Giotto's shirt as if his life depended on it.

"I.. I.. It's…fault.. died..all…my…"

"Sssh, none is your fault." The once powerful man was left in sobbing mess. Fortunately, his room was in second floor, far away from his mother room. He would not want to wake up his mother. It would create more questions from his mother which he did not want to answer.

It took 20 minutes for Tsuna to calm down and somewhere in his mind he could hear Reborn's voice saying 'It is unbefitting to Mafia boss to cry his eyes out and wail especially in front of Primo, Dame-Tsuna' or 'Why it took a long time for you to calm down? Mafia boss should not have breakdown in front of other person at the first place, Dame-Tsuna'. Tsuna chuckled sadly with those thoughts. Oh, how he missed his tutor deeply.

"Sorry to wet your shirt, Primo," said Tsuna with a blush.

"It's okay, Tsunayoshi-kun, and please call me Giotto like you used to,"replied Giotto with a sweet smile.

"Then just call me Tsuna,"said Tsuna.

Tsuna then rest his head on the head board and let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather himself and after he succeeded, he turned to look at Giotto.

"So, how old am I?"

* * *

**A/N:** This is my first KHR fic. I'm not a master of KHR world and I've just read the manga once and never re-read it. This fic is the manifestation of my urge to write in KHR fandom after reading so any fics. I'm still learning so I hope you guys can help me learning. I hope you like this story.

And btw, I don't speak Italian, I use google translate so please excuse the crappy Italian. English is also my second language, so I'm trying to get better at it.

so enjoy the story :)

**P.S. I'm looking for Beta-reader. If you interested, please P.M me**


	2. Second Breakdown

"Real age or your physical body age, Tsuna?"asked Giotto back. Tsuna just looked back at Giotto with blank stare. Tsuna did not need to ask his own real age as he knew it himself. "What? I just want to ease the tensions,"said Giotto and Tsuna only stared. "Okay, okay. Sorry. You are ten years old now,"said Giotto finally answered the question. Tsuna still kept quiet. He knew there were more explanations, so he was waiting for the explanations for Giotto. "You are ten years old because if you are younger your young body cannot withstand the flame. I think this is the perfect age for you as your body durable enough and you will have more time to prepare before Reborn come. You need to train your body to be able to contain the excessive flames," explained Giotto, "You can start in the morning, but for now please rest," continued him.

"One question," said Tsuna. "Hmm," hummed Giotto, saying that Tsuna could ask him anything. "Why and how can you be here? I don't have the Vongola ring yet," asked Tsuna curious. Giotto chuckled in reply. "Can't I just visit my adorable grandson? There is nothing to stop me to visit my lovely grandson, right?" said Giotto teasingly. Tsuna's face turned red, thankfully the room was dark. "Jii-san," spluttered Tsuna embarrassed. Giotto laughed softly as he ruffled Tsuna's hair. The sound of Giotto's soft laughter and the warm of his hand on Tsuna's head made Tsuna smiled. Giotto's presence gave him comfort and made him felt safe. "But seriously, there must be another reason, right?" asked Tsuna again. "Yes," confirmed Giotto, "Your necklace helped as a medium." Tsuna tilted his head in confusion, asking for more explanation. "There are also my flames inside it," added Giotto. Tsuna's mouth then made a 'o' shape in understanding. Giotto then smiled fondly at him, "Now, sleep. You still have a long day ahead and school, so sleep while you can."

Tsuna did not immediately follow his ancestor's suggestion - or was it a command? He reached for his necklace and took it out. The pendant was not quite the same as before. There were chains around it, the same chains he received before his departure. He also knew that somewhere inside his pockets there was the pouch. He played the pendant with his fingers and stared at it, then he clenched it. He promised himself that he would do his best and would not be careless. This time he would be prepared for everything, no, he would prevent those tragedies. The pendant would always remind him of his mission. It would also give him power to keep struggling, to keep move forward. He looked at Giotto and then said, "Thank you." Tsuna then laid his body down, pulled his blanket, and closed his eyes. Giotto knew what Tsuna meant by that words. Not only he was thanking him for his explanations but he also thanked him for so many things that Giotto had done and would do for him. He thanked him for helping him, for staying with him, for believing in him, for forgiving him, for fighting with him, and for giving him chance.

Giotto walked to his descendant's side. He caressed Tsuna's hair, bended down and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, my child." Then, in a burst of flame he disappeared leaving Tsuna with a tingling warm on his forehead and a soft smile on his face. 

* * *

In the morning, Tsuna had trouble waking up. His body was sore and he was not in full energy. After all, it took a lot of his energy to be able to come back and he had a lot of wounds before. Moreover, there was no Reborn to wake him up with his 100-ton hammer, defibrillator, rifle, or anything he had in his arsenal. Tsuna woke up to a soft voice calling his name and someone shook him. "Tsu-kun, Tsu-kun, wake up now or you'll be late for school," said that voice. Tsuna opened his eyes and saw his mother's face. "Ah, finally you wake up," his mother smiled, "hurry up, clean yourself and then come downstairs to eat breakfast. I'll wait downstairs, Tsu-kun." Nana left without waiting for his answer while Tsuna still tried to gather his mind and comprehend the situation.

It took him five minutes to finally grasp the situation. He just saw his mother, Nana, waking him up. His sweet mother who he missed so much and hoped to see again. His mother who he failed to protect. She was perfectly fine and alive. She was here just a few minutes ago and now she just downstairs, making breakfast. Realizing that it was really his mother he saw before, Tsuna suddenly tried to get up from his bed but because he was in haste, he was tangled in his blanket and fell down from the bed. He fought with the blanket for a few minutes before finally succeeding and then ran downstairs. He knocked down several things on his way and on the last step he tripped and fell down on his face. He did not even register the pain and just stood up again and ran to his mother.

Nana who heard the ruckus upstairs just stopped cooking for a moment and smiled, "Ara? Tsu-kun so clumsy," she then continued frying the eggs. Just when she had turned off the stove and was about to move the eggs to the plate, she felt a pair of small arms circling her waist, embracing her. She was a little bit startled but after knowing it was only his son, she calmed down. "Ara, Tsu-kun, what's wrong? I can't move if you hugged me tightly like this," said Nana to his son. However, she did not receive any answers from his son. This made her mother intuition tingling. There was something wrong with her son. She felt something wetting her blouse, and at that moment something clicked on her mind. She knew what wetted her blouse. It was tears, her son tears. Her son was crying. She put the plate back and put her hands on her son arms. "Tsu-kun," she said softly and she could feel the arms tightening on her waist. She cringed a bit because of the power her son put on his hug. "What's the matter?" asked her. Still there was no answer, just the hug getting tighter. Nana flinched and said teasingly, "Your hug too tight, Tsu-kun. I'm afraid you'll break my bone." Hearing his mother words, the hug immediately became less tight. The son was feeling guilty because he had hurt his mother. Nana then pried the arms from her waist, fortunately her son complied. She turned to look at her son.

Her Tsu-kun was looking down. His fluffy hair shadowed his face. Nana kneeled in front of her son. She grabbed her son's chin with his finger and tilted his face up to face her. She wanted to look at his son's face better. Her son face was full of tears and she could see many emotions flickering in his eyes. There were relief, sadness, fear, guilt, grief, determination, and many she could not identify. She was confused why her sweet Tsu-kun had those emotions. Was it a nightmare? Whatever the reasons, Nana did not like to see her son crying. Thus, Nana wiped his tears and pulled him to her embrace, trying to give him comfort. She patted his back as she said, "There, there. There's nothing to worry. Mama's here." The last sentence broke the dam again for Tsuna now was a sobbing mess. His Mama was here. She was really here and this time she would not go anywhere. He would make sure of that. She would stay with him. He clenched Nana's clothes. He did not want to let go, afraid that she would leave him.

Hearing her son cries really broke Nana's heart. She did not know what made her son like this. His cries were full of sadness, grief, and other emotions Nana saw before on his eyes. Nana could only hug him tighter to give him comfort for she knew that was what his son needed. She let her son to let it all out.

When Tsuna finally finished crying, the foods were already cold. Nana took a glanced at the clock. 8.35 A.M. Tsuna was already late for school. She would call in for sick later to Tsuna's school. Her son physical and mental health was more important. "Ne, Tsu-kun," called her softly as she rubbed her son fist on her clothes, "would you like to have breakfast now?" Tsuna was about to shook his head to say no, but his stomach rumbled first, giving the honest answer. Nana just chuckled while Tsuna blushed. "Ara, my Tsu-kun so adorable," cooed Nana as she stood up, pulling Tsuna up with her. "Let me prepare the food first, ne?" Tsuna then sat on one of the chair in the dining room, waiting for his mother.

Nana did not pry to her son problems. She respected his son privacy. Tsuna would tell her in time like always. She just needed to wait. However she was wrong, Tsuna would not tell her for this certain problem as he promised himself to not involve other people. While Nana was busy preparing the food, Tsuna was busy cursing himself mentally. He just broke down in front of his mother because of seeing his perfectly healthy mother. Moreover it was his second breakdown in 24-hour. He needed to keep his emotions at bay. How could he face his other friends if he could not control his own emotions? He did not want to suddenly break down in front of his friends who technically were not his friends yet. So, basically he would breakdown in front of strangers and perhaps he would be labelled as a freak. That's it. He would start meditating to control his emotions.

Tsuna was lost in his thoughts that he did not realize his mother was already put the food in front of him. "Tsu-kun? Why are you not eating? Are you not feeling well?" asked his mother worriedly. Stupid him, now he made his mother worried again. "No, Kaa-san," he put a smile on his face, trying to reassure his mother. He then started to gobble down the food in front of him as if he had not eaten for several days. Technically it was right for the last time he ate was two days ago for breakfast. In no time his bowl was clean. "Want another?" asked his mother. "Un," Tsuna nodded. His mother food was the best. He really missed his mother food. His eyes turned melancholy for a moment but he shook his head to clear his mind. He would go back to that thinking. He had to start gathering himself to be able to move on.

Nana smiled seeing the determination face his son had. She was happy that his son started to act normally and even back to what he used to before. It has been a long time since she saw his face full of determination like that. These days she only saw his resigned face. "Ne, Tsu-kun, you can skip school today. So why don't you spend the day with me today?" Tsuna's face brightened up hearing his mother words. He nodded happily in agreement to his mother suggestion.

That day he spent with his mother. He smiled and laughed. Happy that he was with his mother once again just like the old time in his childhood. After all, he now had to repeat a few years of his childhood, so why don't make the best of it? 

* * *

Tsuna went to bed with a smile on his face. He was happy to spend his day with his beloved mom. However, he could feel there was something wrong with his body. At dinner, he could feel something prickled on his mind. It was like his intuition trying to warn him of something. He also felt his temperature was a little bit hot. He shrugged it off because he was in his mother's presence and he was in a happy mood. His childish side as a ten years old kid did not want to think of anything bad. Everything would be alright as long as his mother there. But now, he was in his room alone. Just when he about to reach his bed, he could feel his body burned from the inside. The pain made him stumbled and fell down. Sweats rolled down from his forehead. His clothes got wet because of the sweat. His wet hair was sticking to his forehead. Then suddenly after the heat, he felt really cold. He tried to hug himself to keep the body warm. The drastic change of temperature made him dizzy. He tried to grab something to still himself, but he only knocked down his alarm clock and several books. He started to lose consciousness and the last thing he heard were hurried footsteps to his room. Everything went black as his eyes closed. 

* * *

**A/N:** So here was the second chapter. Please give me some reviews. I will really appreciate it. And thanks for those who review the first chapter and follow this story. Hope I do not disappoint you with the second chapter. Please let me know of my mistakes and I'll try to fix it. Actually I wanted to write more of what happening to Tsuna but decided to post it in next chapter, because some cliffhanger will spice the story right? Hahaha, sorry for my lame attempt of cliff hanger ;) See you next time~


	3. Seal and Flames

Nana just finished putting on her night cream when she heard the sound of things falling upstairs, from her son room to be exact. She sighed. 'And here he goes again,' she thought. "Ara, my Tsu-kun so clumsy. What things he knocked off today?" she said to herself. At first, she wanted to let it be for it was daily occurrence, but something in her gut told her to check on her Tsu-kun. She decided to follow her gut or what she called mother intuition. She stood up and walked upstairs. As she stepped on the second floor, the gut feeling turned into a bad feeling, which made her believed that there was something wrong with her son. 'Does Tsu-kun hurt himself really bad this time?' she thought worriedly and with that thought she fastened her steps. The feeling was getting worse as she came nearer her son room. She reached out her hand toward the door and slammed the door open.

What she saw made her blood ran cold. There her son was curled on the floor. He was trembling badly. She froze for a moment because of shock, then she realized her son did not acknowledged her presence. Thus, she ran to her son. She kneeled beside her son and reached for her son arm to attract his attention to her. However, she retracted her arm just when she touched Tsuna's arm. Hot. Her son's body was burning up. Nana widened her eyes and immediately took actions. She pulled up his body with her, fortunately, he was light and small. Then she put him back on his bed, pulled up the blanket until it reached his chin. After that, she ran downstairs, took a small towel, a bowl of warm water, a glass of water and some fever medicines. She ran back upstairs and started to tend her sick son. She dipped the towel into the warm water, squeezed it, and then put it on her son forehead. Because of the high temperature, it was not long until the towel got dried. She repeated the act several times, in hope to cool off the body temperature. She tried to wake her son to make him drink the medicine. She shook him, but he only groaned. "Tsu-kun, please wake up. You need to drink the medicine," Nana pleaded. Seeing the reaction from her son, Nana hurriedly put the medicine on his mouth and forced him to gulp it, hoping that her son would not choke on it. Nana looked for more reactions, but there was none.

Nana looked at her son worriedly. "Tsu-kun, please be okay," she said. Her son condition made her thought of negative things. She remembered her son actions and behavior since morning. Her son actions since morning made her more worried for he acted unusually. He clung more on her. Heck, the first thing he did in the morning was crying as he hugged her. He did not want to let go of Nana as if he would lose her. He also did not say a single thing of what was wrong with him. When they spent the rest of the day together, he would always make sure that she had everything he needed, that he did not bother her. He always asked what she needed and tried to help her with her daily chores. The more Nana thought about her son actions the more she did not like where it was going. Her face turned pale. No, Nana would not think about that. Her son only caught a cold and fever. He would get better in no time. It was not like her son would leave her, right? Nana tried to reassure herself. She tried to focus more on tending her son. "Tsu-kun please don't leave Mama," whispered the afraid woman. 'Please Tsu-kun, please prove me wrong. Please prove my bad thinking wrong. You are strong. You able to defeat this fever'

It was on 3.00 A.M. that finally Tsuna's condition got better. Actually Nana wanted to bring him to hospital for his condition was not getting better with her treatment. Her plan was foiled by her own son. Nana was about to grab her phone when she heard her son voice saying "no.. doctor… no… hospital.. Mama enough…" brokenly. She was torn between following her son wish and doing her first plan. In the end, she decided to listen to her son for she had a feeling that Tsuna really needed her and in hospital there were many things that would prevent her to be able to tend her son fully. Nana let out a relief sigh after she checked his temperature with her hand. His body had cooled off. Despite the improvement, Nana did not want to go to her own room. She would stay awake and take care of her son. However, her body did not agree with her. The relief undid the tension on her body. Now, she felt tired and her eyes were heavy with sleep. Thus, her body slumped on her son's side. 

* * *

Tsuna woke up feeling worse than yesterday's morning. He tried to move his body, but he did not have enough energy. He even felt his whole body was full of pain. His body felt weird. One moment it was cold and at another moment it suddenly turned hot. He tried to remember what happened last night as he took a glance around the room. As he remembered what happened last night, his eyes fell on Nana's figure slumped beside him. Her face was creased in worry. It made him feeling guilty again. He made his mother worried over him again. Her body would feel hurt because the position she slept on. Therefore, he decided to wake her up even though he knew that she had not had enough sleep.

"Kaa-san…" croaked Tsuna. His throat felt really dry. Tsuna tried once again to call her. Thankfully, his mother stirred from sleep. She blinked the sleep away and took a moment to finally register whose voice she heard. She immediately straightened her body and looked at her son. She hugged her son's body which was still laid down on his bed. The position was really awkward, but Tsuna could not push his mother away, could he? "Tsu-kun, thanks God you are awake. I was really worried," she said as she cried on his shoulder. Tsuna tried to pat his mother back in comfort even though it was hurt to move. "I'm okay, Mama." Tsuna would revert to call his mother 'Mama' when he was in vulnerable situation. He had stopped call her with that title since he was eight year old, when the Dame-Tsuna nickname had finally become permanent within his friends in school and even in neighborhood.

"Thank you Tsu-kun for proving Mama wrong," muttered Nana between her cries. Tsuna heard it which of course raised questions on his head but he did not want to pry into it as he had a feeling that he would not like the answer. Nana finally calmed down after ten minutes. She already tried to put her smile which made Tsuna also smiled. She asked him which part of his body that was in pain. Tsuna did not try to lie and said his whole body ached. She then said that she would make breakfast and would bring it to his room along with some medicines.

That morning Tsuna had breakfast in his room. After breakfast he took a bath for his body was sticky from sweat. His mother also helped Tsuna to take a bath. She carried him on her arms to the bathroom, cleaned him thoroughly, and carried him back to the bedroom. Tsuna blushed through it all as his mind and soul was not really a ten-years-old boy. He felt embarrassed. Tsuna took another day off that day for he was not really in condition to go to school. After making sure that Tsuna had everything he needed, Nana started to do her daily chores as a housewife.

When Tsuna finally left alone, he let out a sigh. He knew that what happened last night was not a once time thing. It would happen again. He would mostly get that kind of attack again. He had to find ways to counter it as he did not want to make his mother worried again. His gaze turned soft when he remembered his mother. 'I did give her a scare last night, didn't I?' he thought. Tsuna looked at the ceiling and lost to the thoughts of his condition. His thoughts only cut off when once again his mother came into his room.

"Tsu-kun," called her mother, "I'm sorry but I need to go. I just remembered that I promised Yamada-san to help her preparing for some grand dinner for her husband and his colleagues. I also have to buy grocery. Are you okay to be alone? Or do you want me to stay? I can always call Yamada-san to cancel it and promise to make it up to her some other day. I can also buy grocery later on. There are still several eggs for you to eat for lunch and dinner today. I can just e-" Tsuna cut off his mother's rants. "Kaa-san, it's okay. I'm already fine. I just need to rest. I assure you. You can take your time. You already promised, right? That's okay. Remember, I'm a big boy now, ain't I?" Tsuna tried to reassure his mom and gave her a convincing smile. "But Tsu-kun.." Then Tsuna looked at his mother right on the eyes with his big eyes, trying to talk with his eyes. It succeeded. Nana gave up. "Okay, then," Nana sighed, "But call me immediately if you feel your body is getting worse. I will come immediately." Tsuna just nodded in reply. Nana gave him a last hug before she went on her way.

After Nana went away, he tried to take a nap. His attempt to sleep was failed for he could feel his body heat started to go up again. He groaned, "Again?" Can he just have a peaceful sleep for a moment? "I'm lucky that mother is not in home right now," muttered him. He tried to take a deep breath to lessen the aches. However he could feel this time the pain was twice more painful than before. It felt like his body was prickled by needles, burned, then thrown into the cold sea in Antartic. He moaned and groaned in pain. He trashed around but it only worsening the pain. He bit his lip to prevent more voice came out from his mouth. He started to have trouble breathing. He panted and whimpered. 'It's hurt, it's hurt. Someone please ease the pain,' he said on his mind. He then remembered the only person that perhaps could help him. His only pillar of support in this journey. 'Giotto, Giotto-jiichan, help me, please,' pleaded him inside his mind. It felt like few hours for Giotto to answer his call when in reality it was only five minutes.

Giotto who saw his grandson condition, reached his hand to Tsuna's forehead. Orange flames could be seen from his hand and Tsuna's body. Giotto could not take all the pain away. He could only ease the pain. He was also the one who make Tsuna's condition got better at dawn. It took him a long time to identify the problem and he still did not know the whole problem and the solution. After few minutes, Tsuna had calmed down but he still whimpered softly. After all, his body was still in pain.

"W-what's.. the.. problem?" Tsuna forced the question out. "Your flame was going wild. I channeled my flame to calm your flame. But there was only small reaction. I'm still trying to figure it out. Last night I tried to do more but my flames was not enough to materialize and help you immediately. Sorry I was late last night," explained Giotto, his eyes full of worry.

"It's the existence of seal and also the foreign flames," said a foreign yet familiar voice. Both Tsuna and Giotto turned immediately to the voice with Giotto already ready with his gloves and already in Hyper Dying Will Mode, preparing for any attack and trying to protect Tsuna in his vulnerable state. In front of them now there was a pale man cladded in plain green kimono. He has white hair and wore a pair of round glasses. Seeing who it was, they relaxed a bit. But Giotto still stayed alert and felt cautious for they did not know if this person was the same person as the person they had known or if he had their knowledge.

The man walked to Tsuna's side. Giotto tried to prevent him, but with one look from the man he stepped away. Giotto knew the man know what he was doing. It also meant that the man knew of their condition to some extent. "Ka-kawahira-san.." called Tsuna. "Ssshh," He told Tsuna to shut up as he put his hand to Tsuna's forehead like what Giotto did before. This time Tsuna could feel his body felt lighter. He felt that he could talk more clearly, so he talked to make sure. "Can you please explain?" asked Tsuna in clear voice. Then Tsuna tried to sit and Giotto immediately assisted him.

"I felt a disturbance in Tri-ni-set two days ago, but I could not find the source. It was only because the trace of Giotto's flame that I able to investigate. Then suddenly I got a bunch of knowledge from the future. As the Tri-ni-set administrator I will know if there is something threatening the balance of the Tri-ni-set. Your existence here will affect Tri-ni-set be it to protect it or destroy it. I, as the balance protector, was informed of the situation and I am here to help you to protect it," Kawahira gave explanation about the reason he was there and his own condition.

"Then what just happened to me?"asked Tsuna again, trying to get more information about his own condition. "As I said it before, it is because the seal and foreign flames in your body," started Kawahira, "Remember that Nono once sealed your flames when you were a kid?" asked Kawahira and Tsuna gave him a nod as an answer. "The seal is still on your body right now. It keeps your flames at bay. However, you who are from the future have stronger flames than the seal. There is also the existence of that pendant which gives you more flames. Despite those flames had the same attributes, they also different in characteristic. Your future body may be able to handle it as it already used to be exposed to those flames. Now, you are a mere kid without any proper training. Your body has not been exposed to any flames yet. Thus, there is an ongoing battle between the seal and flames inside your body. You are lucky that Giotto's flame has the same characteristic as yours, if not his actions would only worsening your condition and you will die in no time as your young body would not be able to handle it," explained Kawahira. Giotto and Tsuna eyes widened and their face turned pale when they heard the last sentence. Tsuna could die just like that. He could die last night or even just a few moments ago. Yesterday morning could be his last moments with his mother. He might die when he had not doing anything to prevent the tragedies yet. All of his efforts would be in vain. The realization shook him really hard.

"Tsuna, I'm sorry. My actions were reckless. I should have gathered more information before taking any actions," Giotto apologized. He knew what it meant if Tsuna died. Their effort and sacrifices would be in vain. There would also no bright future. Tsuna looked at Giotto, took a deep breath and smiled at Giotto. "That's okay. The important thing, I'm alive right? You also ease my pain, so there's no harm done," said him. Giotto tried to say more on this matter but he was cut off by Kawahira. "Tsunayoshi is right. You really help him," said Kawahira as he looked at Giotto. Then he turned to look at Tsuna. "However Tsunayoshi, I'm afraid this matter isn't solved yet," he said which immediately gained both Tsuna and Giotto full attention. They stared at him, asking him to continue.

"What I did just now was temporarily. Your seal was already weakening. Moreover, it is not really compatible anymore. We also can't afford to seal your flames again with new seal for it will hinder your growth. You will back to your no-good self," Tsuna winced at this statement. He could not afford that condition for he could not waste more times. He needed to act fast. "And if we let the seal there, you would receive more attacks like today. Your body will deteriorate fast or if you can stay for a long time, when the seal finally broke, the flame would go wild and hard to control. It could burn yourself," continued Kawahira.

"Then.. What should I do?" asked Tsuna dejectedly. He clenched his hand. Why his life so difficult? Why was it always hard to him? Can't he have it easy for once? His smiling face turned into a scowl. His thoughts were stopped by a soft touch on his fist. It was Giotto trying to soothe him. He gave Tsuna a reassuring smile and Tsuna replied with his own grateful smile. Kawahira who saw their interaction could only smile sadly. Tsuna really had it tough.

"We could unseal it now, put your excess flames to some medium. Even that pendant is not enough to contain it all. The flames seep to your body, making them your own. We need to change the medium time to time and you also need to let loose your flames. I need to supervise you and you need to train your body. However there would be time gap between the medium changing in which you will be exposed to the corrosive flames. Your body will be burdened greatly, it will be harmed, thus, your life is shortened. Your body will always full of excessive flames until you take off that pendant. You can't use your flames freely until you regain more control. You need to use limiter to limit your flame uses. Each time you lose control over the flames your life is shortened. If you use those whole flames it could backfire and attack you. On the other hand, those flames give you more power and strength. It can be your weapon and a great asset. You just need to use it wisely and cautiously. But still, don't be too dependent on your flames. Start training your physics. I know how you are a reckless person and because of the last two attacks your body already harmed a little, thus, I deduce that you only have about fifteen to twenty years, or perhaps shorter. I will always keep looking for more permanent ways and other better alternatives. After all, you have proved it that there will always ways," Kawahira told them his solution.

Tsuna needed a long time to digest the information. It was a lot to take in. He already knew what his decision. He had promised that he would do anything for his family's sake, for their happiness. He would protect them. He knew that he would think more about himself as his family would be sad if he took reckless actions. But he already determined. Tsuna stood up, his body had regained more energy, and faced Kawahira, his eyes full of resolve.

"Then, please do it," he said with strong resolution. "And I have a favor for you and Giotto," he continued. "What is it, Tsunayoshi?" asked Kawahira back. Tsuna straightened his back then bended his body, gave them a 90-degree bow. "Both of you please train me." 

* * *

**A/N:** I was on fire at night until dawn hahaha XD However, I'm afraid that it is not maximal for I didn't proofread this. I also rushed the explanation. I hope you understand the explanation. I don't really like the explanation part. Perhaps I will edit it later. Thank you for all of you who follow, review and make this story as favorite :) I hope I don't really disappoint you, guys. Please feel free to criticize me and give me some suggestions and perhaps your suggestions will make it to the story. It also seemed that I can't update in 5 days. My mother want to borrow my lappie :( Kay then~ See you when I see you ^.^


	4. First Time Always Hard

There was pregnant silence in the room. Both adult just looked at the only child in the room with blank and calm face. Their faces did not betray their emotions. The said boy just stilled in his place, determined to make both adult to grant his request. He would not raise his head until they answer. Hopefully, the answer would be 'Yes'. If not then he…. He would… Ah he would think about that later after he knew for sure what the answer was.

The blond man took the first step to break the tension in the room. He walked to the boy – who was not really a boy– reached for the brunet shoulders with both hands to help him stand up properly. "You can stand up, Decimo." His voice and tone meant business. "It is my job to guide my descendants." It was clear what the blond decision was. Then he turned to look at the other man. "What was yours, Kawahira or should I say Checker Face?"asked him.

"Fufufu… My training is harsh, Tsunayoshi-kun. I rarely take a student. It will be difficult, you know?" said the man now already in his Checker Face persona and outfit, his mask already on his face and he rested both of his hands on his cane. The not-so-young boy brightened with those words. It was clear for him what the two men's answer. It meant yes, he would get two new teachers. "Un, I'm ready for it," his eyes gleamed with resolve. He was no longer that no-good boy who afraid of his own shadow, who could not make any decision, who could not get anything right, who was apathetic, who liked to run away, who was in denial, and who did not believe in his own self. That boy was no longer there. He had long grown up from that boy. He had become the Decimo of Vongola Famiglia, the tenth leader of the strongest mafia in the world. He had become reliable man whose many relied on whether it to protect, help, give advice, or just talk and become a real friend, brother, and family. He was a leader that would do his best to protect its own family and subordinate. He had become someone who would fight to protect and thus, he would grab the chance to get stronger to do so. Yes, Tsunayoshi Sawada had been reborn from his old self.

"Your training starts tomorrow. I'll pick you up after school. But first thing first," said the oldest one, "let's unseal your flames." He walked to Tsuna and touched his forehead like what Nono did. Tsuna could feel his body burned. His young body was strained by the massive flames. His flames unstable and started to go wild. "Giotto, a little help here, please," called the tri-ni-set protector. Giotto immediately knew what he must do. He calmed Tsuna down with his own flame while some Tsuna's flames got absorbed by him without him noticing. It took several minutes to calm Tsuna down. After that, Checker Face took out a stone to store the excess flames, then gave him a small ring. "This will work for now. I will change it later."

Checkerface examined him for another several minutes, worried for any complication that might surface. Fortunately there was none. He patted the youngest boy head. "Now rest and let your body heal itself," the earthling said and without further ado vanished into thin air only leaving swirl of mists. "I think it's time for me to go too. Rest and charge your energy for tomorrow, Tsuna," Giotto smiled and ruffled Tsuna's hair with affection, then he also vanished in a burst of flames.

Tsuna looked at the place where they stood before for a moment, then he threw himself back to the bed. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. His body felt lighter than before and he was not burning up but now his room was really quiet. The calming presence had gone with both of them. He felt stuffed. The small room and quietness suffocated him. He was lonely. He felt lonely. He had no longer friends who he could call family. Yes, he had Giotto and Kawahira, but they could not always be there for him. They did not experience what he went through with his friends. They had not been fighting and struggling with him like since the beginning. He needed his friends. He missed the noise and chaos his friend would bring wherever they were. Tsuna reached his right hand up as if he wanted to reach the sky. He looked through his finger to the white ceiling. He could see his friends, his family's faces. He could feel tears coming up to his eyes. Ah, he would not cry anymore. He had shed enough tears. He should stop mopping around and start to move on. Yeah, he would get his gear up and march forward. He then clenched his hand as if he finally could grab the sky with his determination alone. 

* * *

Tsuna almost forgot about school until his mother woke him up in the morning and reminded him about it. He did not like school and it was not his primary concern right now. There would be bullies there and they would be there, his future – or was it past? – friends and family. Hibari Kyoya, Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei, Sasagawa Kyoko, and Kurokawa Hana. They were in his school. He dreaded the meeting. He only hoped he would not breakdown like what happened with his mother. But, he needed to keep the façade. He could not change overnight. It would make someone suspicious, even his own mother could feel there was something wrong with his son if he said he did not want to go to school anymore, moreover, after his breakdown and 'fever'. So, he decided to just man up and face the problem head on.

He got to school early. He did not want to get bitten to death if he was late or to be truth he was not ready to meet the prefect yet. He knew he was in the same class with his three other friends and he could not really avoid them or not seeing them. He just hoped that he would stay inconspicuous liked old time. They started to be friend when they were in middle school, so hopefully they would not notice him this time. He got into the classroom and immediately went to his appointed seat. He did not even greet his other classmates. It would be useless efforts for they would greet him back. Heck, they would start taunting him instead.

Tsuna put his bag near his table, sat on his chair, and rested his head on his arms on the table. He would try to get more sleep while he can. Tsuna woke up again when his teacher came in. In each lesson he would only be focused on 15 minutes maximum. He could think more clearly and learn faster now after the seal was unsealed. Moreover, he already learnt it once, so he just needed to review it all and tried remember the forgotten lesson. After the 15-minutes, he would look out to the window or just got back to sleep. All time, he forced himself to not take a glance to his former or would-be friends. Several times he would be called by teachers to answer or because he was sleeping and he would just force himself to scream his famous catchphrase. It was useless to answer for his teachers would not even wait for his answers and just started on lecturing him to be more diligent and such on.

When lunch break came, he stopped for a moment to think. He did not know where to go. Rooftop and class were off-limits. Hibari would be in the rooftop and if he stayed in class he would be an open target for the bullies. He could not take care of them as his body still weak. He needed to search a deserted place, fast. He walked around the schools for ten minutes before he finally found a perfect place. There was a bench under a big tree near the glass house. The only one who came there only those who in gardening club, and they came only in the morning and after school. It had a nice view of flowers and the shades of trees would protect him from sun heat. If he wanted to take a nap, he could lay on the bench or on the ground right under the tree. He smiled when he found the place. Yeah, he could spend his lunch time there.

The lectures after lunch time were the same as before. Tsuna just went through them the same way he did before. When the bell rang, he immediately grabbed his bag and walked out the door. He was eager to train to get stronger. He willed himself not ran on the hallway because of certain prefect. However, after he got out the school building he started to run to the gate. But suddenly he stopped. His mouth was open and his face was full of shock. "Ehhh?" He pointed to the man who leaned on the gate's pillar. There, Kawahira already waited for him in his green kimono. "I said I'll pick you up after school, didn't I?" was the man response. When he heard the man would pick him up after school, he did not think that he would wait him at the school gate. However he was glad that the man had come immediately for he did not tell him the exact time before and he did not want to wait anxiously.

"Yes, you did, Kawahira-san," Tsuna said. "Hmm, just call me Uncle Kawahira. It will bring more familiarity and avoid suspiciousness from other people. Don't want your other friends misunderstand me as some kidnapper or kid rapist, do you?" He smiled mischievously. Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. He started thinking of what the meaning of the last sentence, not really the last sentence but just few words which are 'other friends'. He looked around him, trying to find something. After he surveyed his surrounding he finally understood what the man meant. There were many other kids for the school just ended, but most did not pay attention to the Dame-Tsuna. They just ignored his presence most times if not for laughing at him or teasing him. But, Tsuna saw several people who looked his way. There were his bullies who looked about to approach him but hesitate because of the man's presence. Tsuna scoffed, "As if they are my friends," he muttered quietly only to Kawahira's ears and the man chuckled in response. "So shall we go?" Tsuna nodded excitedly and put a big smile on his face. He exaggerated his movements a bit to put a façade of a child meeting his beloved uncle. "Un, let's go Ji-chan~" Tsuna said louder to let other people heard him especially people who started to take notice of him and those bullies. Kawahira who knew what Tsuna's reaction meant and because of other reason which he only knew just laughed. Those bullies decided to let Tsuna off the hook for today because he was with his uncle. However, there were still several pairs of eyes who watched him in pure curiosity for it was rare for Dame-Tsuna to be with someone.

Kawahira and Tsuna walked in comfortable silence. Kawahira just looked ahead while Tsuna looked around him in reminiscence. He felt nostalgia. He was reminiscing in his hometown which he had left once and would left again in the future. He felt comfort in the familiar surroundings. When they walked through intersection, he knew where each way would lead to. If they took left, they would reach riverbank. If they took right, they would reach shopping center. They chose neither, and walked straight ahead. This way would lead to more housing, but they just walked passed the houses. So it seemed they would not visit someone's house. They went left in another intersection, took right, then another right and left again. This way would lead to a more deserted area with few stores and several houses. It was already in different neighborhood than Tsuna's. He rarely went here. If they continued to walk ahead they would reach the forest. Tsuna wondered where they would go. Kawahira never told him.

"Ano, Ji-chan… Where will we go?" Kawahira chuckled. "So, Tsunayoshi-kun, you just walked away with someone without knowing where they would take you to. Do you do this often? I worry for you." Tsuna pouted. Why this man really liked to tease him, he wondered. "Of course not. I already know you," said Tsuna. "But someone you know can still bring you to somewhere suspiscious. Some people even led by their loved one to some place and then sold away," Kawahira said in retaliation. Hearing that, Tsuna frowned or his pout just deepened. "That's true." He already knew about this kind of things. He looked at Kawahira's eyes "But, I trust you and we already made agreement. You are not that kind of people." Kawahira was taken aback by his words, but he was able to cover it. He could see that Tsuna was sincere. There were warmth, trust, and acceptance in his eyes. Seeing Tsuna, he smiled softly and ruffled his hair in small show of affection.

"But wait," continued Tsuna after he thought for a moment, "I think you are that kind of person. You lead people with your words and con them to be Arcobaleno. You even have different persona. I also almost became your victim." Kawahira flinched at that. He did not regret what he had been done. His actions were for the earth, they were necessary and needed. He only knew that way and he never knew any alternative until the brunet came.

Tsuna saw the flash of emotions even though it was only a moment. "That's okay too. I still trust you. Just leave that in the past. After all I accept you for who you are and I seek for your presence and your help myself. I also hold you dear and regard you as one of my family, Kawahira-san, no Kawahira Ji-chan," Tsuna said softly and tried to convey his emotion with his eyes. He took Kawahira's right hand with both hands. "So don't be upset. I don't hate you. Don't worry." Tsuna smiled in acceptance. "Now, shall we go? And please tell me our destination this time," he dragged the older man. "Where? To my shop of course. Now, let me lead the way again." He chuckled again and he did not pull his hand away from Tsuna's grab. They walked in hands, both seemed comfortable with it.

It took around ten minutes before finally they stopped in front of a small store. "So~" Tsuna drawled. "I've been wondering for some times now. Why is your shop in this kind of place? Do you even get customer? What do you sell?" asked him. "I like quiet place. Yes, sometimes. Antique things," Kawahira answered all calmly. He opened the door and said, "Welcome to my humble shop."

Tsuna walked inside and let his eyes roamed around the room. There were many weird and unique things in the shop. Dragon statues, several rings, necklaces, bracelets, teapot, broom, music box, plates, armor, katana, incense, cigar, hat, clothes from several eras, grandfather clock, vases, pots, cooking utensils, and many more. There were also many he did not recognize or know of. Tsuna just tried to follow Kawahira without nudging a single thing. He only hoped his clumsiness would not strike right now. Thankfully, he could follow Kawahira without breaking anything. They walked to the back door and went through it. They reached the hallway. There were several doors in it. Kawahira went to the second door to the right from the store's door. Tsuna just followed him in and when he walked in, his jaw fell open.

"How the hell do you manage to do this?" Tsuna shouted. "Tsunayoshi, language," chided the older man. In reply, Tsuna glared at him and just ignored the comment. He walked away and looked around. They were in a vast place with green weeds below their feet. Several kilos away he could see vast areas with rocks only and no plant. He could see there was a forest in the distance and was that a cliff? He was sure when he was outside and on the street, he only saw that behind this shop there were only several houses. Tsuna turned back to look at the shopkeeper. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and tapped his foot on the ground. He stared at the man. His stare meant 'explain'.

"Illusion," started Kawahira, "Most, if not all, of the buildings outside are only illusion. Thus, I have vast land without having to pay any tax, not that I have problem with money. I just modified it to what I like, several are real, several are illusion, and the others are real-illusion." "How long?" asked Tsuna again. Kawahira shrugged, "Couple of centuries, I think. I didn't count. I also have this kind of places in several countries. That's a quirk of living for a long time and have massive flames." "Damn old man,"muttered Tsuna which of course heard by the said old man. Thus, he was bonked and received a creepy smile from the man.

"Let's proceed to the training." He threw some clothes and two bracelets to Tsuna. "Change to that and also use those bracelets, they are limiters. Toilet is on the third door on the left from the hallway." "How about Giotto?" Tsuna just remembered Giotto now when he was about to start training. "He would join later. We would only assess your current body's capability. It's only the first day, after all." After hearing the answer, Tsuna went to change his clothes and back to the training ground in five minutes.

"Okay, for starter please do some warm up and then do 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 200 back-ups, 200 jumping jacks, 200 pull-ups and then run 10 laps. I already made sign of your route. After that sprint for 10 times from here, which is your finish line, to that tree and back." He pointed to a tree which 500 meters away from their places. Tsuna nodded then proceed to the training regime. He did not even whine. It was still easy and less than what he used to do. But, he seemed to forget that now he was only a ten year-old with no training and never done any hard labor. Two days ago, he was still a Dame-Tsuna which never good in anything, sports included. His body was still the same, it only improved a little because the unsealing process.

Not even half-way through the training, Tsuna had already exhausted. He was gasping for air and drenched in his own sweat. His young body was already strained. Kawahira with Giotto, who had come some time in the training, approached Tsuna and decided to cut the training half. Tsuna only had to do half the numbers of what he supposed to do. "You can't do any flames training until you have strong body," Giotto said, "so we will shape your body first. Just take baby steps, Tsuna. We can't strain your young body."

It took Tsuna around 5 hours to finish the first training. He could feel that tomorrow he would wake up with sore body. He just wanted to take a warm shower and went straight to bed after that. He opened the door to his house sluggishly and said "Tadaima," as habit. Then he heard hurried steps, but he did not really pay attention to it. In his mind there were only two things: shower and bed. Suddenly with his mind already clouded and dizzy, he felt something swept him off his feet and his body was crushed. He wanted to struggle but he did not even have the strength to. He felt a little bit panic, but finally the voice from his assaulter calmed him down.

"Tsu-kun, okaeri." It was his mother. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you. It's already 8 P.M." 'Ah it's already that late?' "You never come home this late. What happened? Are you okay? You just recently recovered from your fever. I'm afraid that you will be sick again. Don't you just disappear like that. You should t-" Tsuna could not hear and process the whole things his mother said to him. But even in his clouded mind, he knew that he needed to calm his mother and gave some excuses or lies which Tsuna was really bad at. However he was good at giving half-truth and he decided to do that.

"I'm sorry mom," he said louder to cut off his mother rambling and to pull out from his mother tight embrace. "I did not mean to worry you. I was at my friend house and decided to help at his store. We also played and we lost the track of time." Nana was a little bit taken aback by her son answer. Her sweet son had a friend? He finally had friend? Nana mood then took a 180 degree turn. She was really happy for her son. She smiled proudly at her son. "I'm proud of you, Tsu-kun." She hugged him again. "Okay, I'll forgive you for this time. But, please let me know beforehand next time, ne? Now, I will heat up the food. You can take a shower first, sweetie," she said cheerfully. Tsuna just nodded and went to take shower.

After shower, he really wanted to just sleep, but he could not waste his mother efforts to feed him. He even almost fell asleep in the shower and knocked his head to the wall which in turn made him awake again. This happened around five times. He felt a little bit refreshed after the long warm shower. He went to the dining table, tripping several times on his way, and also knocked several table, fortunately nothing fell down except for himself. When he finally sat down in front of the foods, the smell of his mother's delicious food woke him up. He finally felt the hunger that was covered with his sleepiness. He then ravished the foods in front of him. Nana just chuckled at his son acts.

"Ne, slow down, Tsu-kun or you will get choked." Just when Nana finished his words, Tsuna got choked by the food. Nana hurriedly gave him a glass of water which Tsuna immediately took and gulped down. Nana caressed her son's back to help him in ceasing the cough. After he stopped coughing, he sent his mother a sheepish smile, then continued eating. Nana just shook her head in amusement. "Ne, Tsu-kun," Nana called for his attention, "why don't you invite your friends to our house? Mama wants to meet them." Tsuna froze a moment in the middle of shoving rice into his mouth. He then proceeded in eating the rice and thought while he chewed the rice. He gave his answer after he gulped down the rice. "I don't know. It's up to him. I haven't asked him. We just got to know each other recently." Tsuna could not find reasons or excuses to reject his mother and technically Kawahira had come to his house before, but his mother never met him yet. "But, you have come to his house, right? Then why won't he come?" replied Nana. "Okay then. I'll try to ask him tomorrow." Tsuna shoved a side dish and some rice to his mouth. "Kaa-san, can I go to his house again tomorrow? I think I'll start to come to his house every day after school. We'll study together. He has a vast knowledge and will teach me many things. I will get back home before dinner or perhaps on the same time like today." Nana thought for a moment. Her son finally found friend and motivation to study, so why should she hold her back? Perhaps his friend would make her Tsu-kun more socialize and open to world. "It's okay if it is not too troublesome for him. You should socialize more." Tsuna blushed and only answered with a small thank you for the permission and another grateful smile.

After dinner, Nana immediately ushered her son to bed because he looked so sleepy and needed help to get to the bed. Nana was afraid that her son would fall from the stairs head first if she did not give help. She even tucked him to sleep and kissed his forehead. Tsuna then fell asleep without even doing a single homework that he had. There was only a lingering thought before he fell asleep. He now had a small side mission from his mother: invite Kawahira to his house properly and introduce him to his mother.

* * *

**A/N:** That's chapter 4. It's longer than before. Hope you like it. Btw, I have several questions for you guys.

1\. Who want to see some snapshots or the glimpse of Tsuna's past, some flashback kind of things? Which part do you want to know most (e.g: the beginning of the matters, someone's death, the last moment before the departure, etc)?

2\. Who want to see Tsuna's other friends or other characters?

3\. Do you want Tsuna to befriend them early or not?

I think that's all for now. Please leave a comment or review. I really appreciate your thoughts. Your answers to those questions are suggestions for me of what I should write for next chapter. Thank you all, and please stay tune :)


	5. As The Time Goes By

The second day of training was pretty much the same as the first. The only difference was Tsuna coaxed Kawahira to meet his mother. Tsuna as a good son would try his best to fulfill his mother desire. Kawahira refused to come, but Tsuna did not give up. He tried every single day. Every time they met he would ask the older man in which he would always receive another words of refusal. Kawahira would often pick-up Tsuna at school. It helped chasing the bullies away after school, but they would tease Tsuna and call him names. They taunted Tsuna, saying that 'Dame-Tsuna is a big baby who cannot go home alone'. Tsuna would ignore them. He did not dislike Kawahira's presence, in fact, he was glad that there was Kawahira for him. He enjoyed his company for Tsuna could be himself and talked things that he could relate to with him. Kawahira could be like his own uncle and close friend. He did not seem like the antagonist persona that was portrayed in Checker Face even though some of Checker Face's persona came out on training.

School life did not change much. Tsuna tried to improve his academic for he said he was studying with a friend for a cover. His mother would be suspicious if there was no improvement, so he kept his score on average. He already went through it once, so he just needed to review it. He did not need to learn what he already knew. He decided to learn new things that he never had the chance to learn before which most of them not really school related. He started learning hacking and gathering information. He needed to know information underground. He needed access and there was no one to ask, so he had to make his own way. He practiced hacking by trying to hack several social media account of his classmates. It took him several months to finally succeed at his first bigger hacking project which was some small company in Namimori.

Friends, he still did not have any yet. He kept to himself in school. He came to school early, after his morning routine — in which he tried to avoid certain boxer – to avoid certain prefect, he stayed on his seat, reading books or listening to music, then on lunch break he went to his private place and ate alone, after school he immediately went outside to meet Kawahira. They would walk leisurely to Kawahira's place or sometime Kawahira would just teleport them. They would train until around 6 or 7 P.M. He would eat dinner with his mother and his mother would ask again when his friend would go to their home. Tsuna would try to give some excuses such as 'he's busy', 'he's shy', 'he said later', and such on. After dinner, he did his homework and gathered some information. Most of Tsuna's days were spent on training and learning useful skill.

His character now was a mixed of a child and an adult. He could think like an adult and even act like one, but sometime his childish side would come out. He accepted his childish side for he was still a child technically. He also thought if he needed to experience his childhood again, why didn't he just experience it to the fullest and as he liked. Sometime his childish side also helped in coping with his past. As a child, he could rely more on adult and took comfort from them. He liked the attention and care his mother gave him, and also some attention from Giotto and even Kawahira.

Time passed and it was already six months since he first trained with Kawahira and Giotto. His stamina and endurance had improved. He learned how to fight and defense himself. He started to get use with his body and gained some of his reflexes back. Giotto also helped Tsuna to enhance his hyper intuition. However, he had not tried to use his flames yet. He did not want to risk it and would wait for a few months.

It was October. Tsuna's birthday was coming. Nana had asked for his friend to come again and this time she insisted that his friend had to come to his birthday. Tsuna tried to give excuses that his friend was busy and had another appointment that day. His mother replied, "Tsu-kun what kind of friends cannot even spare their time for their friend birthday? He does not even want to come to your house or meet your mother. It is always you who come to his house. It's not Mama doesn't believe you, but Mama just worry about you. Mama needs to know who to contact and if you'll be okay." Hearing those words, Tsuna could only let out a muttered "I'll try harder, Ma." That was yesterday and now here he was in front of his friend.

"So, uncle," started Tsuna, "Kaa-san invited you to my birthday dinner tomorrow. She, no, we, my mother and I hope you can come." Kawahira was about to let out the practiced words of excuses until he heard the 'birthday' word. He looked at Tsuna and saw his determined face. It looked like Tsuna was really determined to make him come this time. His presence alone would be a birthday gift to Tsuna. Tsuna's mother also really persistence and he could not always ignore or avoid the invitation. Perhaps it was already time for him to meet the mother of his student slash friend.

The silence made Tsuna unease. He worried that Kawahira would refuse again. If determined and resolved expression would not work, he would use another one. "Pretty please, Ji-chan?" he asked with puppy eyes, his wide eyes looked at Kawahira's expectantly. Kawahira hid an amused smile and let out a sigh. "Okay, I give in," Tsuna cheered and jumped, "But," Tsuna's quiet down. Ah, he really hated the 'but'. He groaned softly and stared at the earthling with an expression that said 'what now?' "Buy me ramen for two months." Tsuna's groan got louder. "But, I'm still a child, I don't have money," spluttered Tsuna. Kawahira shrugged, "Take it or leave it." Tsuna cursed mentally. Why does everyone like to see him miserable? 

* * *

It was Tsuna's birthday. There was no training today, so he went home straight after school. He tried to help his mother preparing the dinner, but she said the birthday boy should stay still and wait for the guest. His mother was ecstatic when he told her the news. She had prepared a feast to welcome the honorable guest. She was thankful for this person as he had become Tsuna's friend and helped him study. This feast would be to celebrate Tsuna's birthday and also thank you gift to his friend.

It was around 7 P.M. when the doorbell rang. Tsuna opened the door and welcomed the guest. He ushered the guest to the dining room to meet his mother who already waited there. "Kaa-san, he's here," announced Tsuna immediately after he went in to the dining room. He then introduced both of them to each other. "Kaa-san, this is Kawahira Ji-chan," he said to his mother, "Ji-chan, this is my mother."

Nana did not expect this. She did not know that her son friend was not a fellow elementary student. She had guessed that her son befriended his friend when they played together, or because some school project. She never guessed that the said friend would be some middle aged man clad in green kimono with white hair and round glasses. She was a little bit shocked, but she got over it fast. She only paused for a moment before back to her usual self. She believed in her son choice of friend.

Tsuna and Kawahira saw the brief shock. It made Tsuna worried for a moment. He worried that her mother would not accept his friend. But who was he to kidding. She was Nana, his mother. His worry and doubt were unnecessary. Nana was back to her usual self in instance. She could accept a baby as his tutor so why she could not accept a middle aged man as his friend?

"Good evening, Madam. My name is Kawahira." The man introduced himself and gave a slight bow. It acted as a cue for Nana to act as a good host and warm housewife. "Ah, where my manner? Good evening. My name is Sawada Nana. Just call me Nana," she smiled and gave the slight bow too. She did not ask the lack of family name in the introduction. They just met and she did not want to pry. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for taking care of my Tsu-kun," she said. Kawahira replied with a 'no problem' and small pleasantry.

After the pleasantry they went to the dining table. Tsuna sat beside Kawahira who sat across Nana. They ate and chatted. Nana asked how they met and befriended each other. They already prepared an answer beforehand. They said that they met accidentally. Tsuna was lost and Kawahira helped him and gave him some treat. They met again in shopping center and then they often met after that. Tsuna would always come to his small shop and helped him while Kawahira helped him study for school. Nana was proud of her son to be such a helpful person. Kawahira also gave Tsuna a birthday gift which was wrapped in orange wrapper. Tsuna immediately opened it and there was a pair of mitten inside it with 27 on it. Familiar yet different. Tsuna looked at Kawahira with gleaming eyes expectantly, asking for confirmation. Kawahira gave a nod. That was all he needed before he lunged for a hug. Nana just watched in amusement. She only thought that her son was really cute to be really happy over a pair of mitten. Perhaps he was really happy to get new mitten for winter. Seeing her son was really comfortable with the man, Nana felt that she really could trust him and leave Tsuna in his care.

Kawahira went home with the promise to come again. Nana had been able to coax him with the promise of cooking his favorite foods which she found out during dinner. Tsuna went to his room with a smile. He believed that he would not get a nightmare today, even though he did not work his body hard. He usually had to force his body until its limit to have dreamless sleep. He had a feeling that tonight he would be able to sleep peacefully. When he opened the door to his room, his smile got widened. There, his ancestors slash his several great grandfathers already waiting for him on his bed. His childish side or his ten, now eleven years old side, made him run to his grandfather's embrace.

Giotto chuckled as he patted the boy's head. "Happy birthday, Tsunayoshi," said him lovingly. Tsuna looked up at him and gave him his dazzling smile. "I already prepared a gift for you." Tsuna tilted his head. "Really? What is it? Where is it?" Giotto just chuckled again. "Now, now, did I say I will give it now?" Tsuna pouted at that. He sulked and muttered what sounded like 'stupid ghostly grandfather' and 'just tell me dammit'. Giotto who heard them only laughed amusedly.

"Stop teasing him, Giotto." Suddenly a voice heard from behind him which made Tsuna turned immediately. Tsuna's eyes widened in shock. A red haired man with a tattoo on his face was standing there, in his room. "And it's not even really your gift," added the redhead, then he looked at the only child in the room. "Yo, brat!" he greeted. Before Tsuna could answer, five burst of flames appeared in his rooms.

Now in his rooms there were another five men, so there were seven in total. Tsuna tried to speak. He opened his mouth but only to close it again without able to speak a single word. He was speechless and his expression made the audience, which were the seven men, stared at him in amusement, some even let out a chuckle. Finally after a few moments, he could stutter out a word. "H-how?" He gulped, took a deep breath, calmed himself, and tried once again. "How all of you can be here? Why?"

The leader of the group decided to answer. "They are linked to me. I can call them with enough flames and strong links. They are somehow also linked to you. And for why," the blond man swept his gaze to the other six men, "they, no, we are here firstly to celebrate your birthday and the second one is to help your training with flames." Tsuna smiled hearing the reason, but then he remembered something and his smile fell. His face turned to a cautious expression. He looked at the blue haired illusionist warily. Giotto understood immediately. "They also had the knowledge of the future because of their link." Tsuna knew what Giotto's words meant but he was still wary.

"Do not worry Sawada Tsunayoshi. I already understand my mistakes. I already see the wrong of my ways of thinking and actions. I can't undo everything, but in this timeline I haven't touched the tenth generation of Shimon and I do not have any intention to. I come here in peace and to help you," explained the mist guardian. Those explanations were enough for Tsuna. He immediately smiled brightly again. "Thank you for coming, all of you." He then went to each of them and gave them a hug which each of them also reciprocated, even the skylark.

That night he chatted with the spirit of the Vongola first generation until late at night. And just like what his feeling told him, he went to sleep with a smile and could sleep peacefully. 

* * *

Several people noticed there was something different with the no-good and useless student of Namimori. The infamous Dame-Tsuna was calmer, his score improved, he kept to himself more. There was also something about his aura. He always disappeared during lunch and immediately went home after school. It could be said he changed after the day he went with the white haired man after school which was said to be his uncle. The man also often picked him up after school which made many students teased him about it. But now, instead of getting upset, Dame-Tsuna seemed to be calmer about the insults and taunts that were thrown to him. Now he only ignored them.

Yamamoto Takeshi was a cheerful boy who liked to play baseball. His cheery characters and smiles made him adored by many. Girls started to have a crush on him and boys wanted to be him or befriend him. That day when Tsuna was picked up by the said uncle for the first time, he saw him when he was about to go to the baseball field. He saw Tsuna ran to the gate in eagerness and expectations, the expression never seen on the boy's face. He was a classmate of Tsuna, but he never really paid attention to him. He had his own circle of friends while Tsuna had… none, he realized. He sometime also saw the said dame student got bullied from the corner of his eyes, but never did anything to help. He came into this realization on that day when there were many people paid attention to the interaction of the said dame student and his uncle at the gates. He had never seen him with someone. It was the first time Yamamoto saw Dame-Tsuna interacted with someone else in school.

After that day, he started to pay more attention to him. There was also something that attracted him to the boy. Yamamoto noticed of the boy seemed to not pay attention to the lessons and was eager to go home. He would smile every time his uncle would pick him up. He would disappear at lunch. He would also come early than most of the students. When Yamamoto came, he would already on his seat, reading a book or sleeping. Yamamoto wanted to approach him but he was afraid. Despite the attraction he felt, there was also something about Dame-Tsuna that made Yamamoto hesitate to approach him. He felt that the said boy closed himself and that he was on another league than Yamamoto. This made Yamamoto chuckled. He was the school idol and the other was the loser of the school. Of course they were in another league, but what Yamamoto meant was not that kind of things. It was different. He did not know how different, but he only know it was different.

Since that day, Yamamoto seemed to follow Tsuna's movement with the corner of his eyes. He noticed that the boy sometime tensed up and then relaxed after a few moments. He also caught some wistful looks on the boy's face. There was sometime also grief, loneliness, and longing expression. Yamamoto wanted to wipe those expressions away, but he did not know why. He had a feeling that if he was to approach him, he would only scare the boy. He could not just come to approach him out of a blue. His circle of friends would always drag him away. It would also be weird for the boy. He needed a situation to befriend him. He hoped he would be given a chance to carry out his plan.

Kurokawa Hana was a smart girl who hated child and childish characters despite being a child herself. She thought of boys as useless monkeys who did not have brain and only did stupid things. She had big curiosity, great observational skills and good deductive skills. She had sharp tongue and always spoke her mind bluntly. She was best friend with Sasagawa Kyoko who was an innocent girl who adored by many. Sasagawa Kyoko was another school idol who had beautiful and warm smile. She was kind and friendly. Many boys had crush on her and girls wanted to befriend her or be her. She was like the counterpart of Yamamoto Takeshi. Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana had different personalities, it could be said their personalities really opposites. However, they complemented each other well. Hana somewhat became a protector of Kyoko from the big bad wolf while Kyoko gave her some company.

Both of them saw the first interaction of Tsuna and the white haired man from their class. The incident picked Hana's curiosity. The following behavior of the dame student made her curiosity grew. The Dame-Tsuna became less monkey for her. The boy kept to himself and his annoying shriek was reduced. His score also improved even though he did not really pay attention in class. He came early to school when he was used to come in last minute. He even liked to read books. He was different from before. Did his uncle whom made him change? She also saw the growing interest to the said object from another monkey in her class which was the baseball monkey. She saw how the boy kept looked out for him and followed his movements. Her best friend also took more attention to him. She also had a feeling that the boy was more than what he seemed. Suddenly the boy came in school with different attitude. It was like he had grown up overnight or he was a different person. She could see the flash of emotions that sometime passed his face. He would sometime tense up as if there was something dangerous or as if he remembered something. She also had a feeling that the boy wanted to pull out himself from the class. He tried to keep to himself alone and did not want to befriend anyone. He tried to fade out, more so than before. The boy was like a puzzle shrouded in mystery which she had to solve. She needed situation to investigate and solve the puzzle.

Sasagawa Kyoko knew her best friend well. Despite the clueless persona she seemed to have, she knew that something or someone to be exact had taken her best friend's interest. She knew who her object of interest was. After all, she also had the same interest. What she was talking right now was not love interest or anything like that. It was just an interest which stemmed from curiosity. Just like her best friend, Kyoko noticed the changes. She was more observant than what people believed. Yes, she was gullible and did not have great deductive skills like Hana. Her observant skill was also not as good as Hana. But she was blind if she could not see the obvious changes. Thus, her curiosity also picked and she wanted to befriend the said boy.

Yamamoto Takeshi, Kurokawa Hana, and Sasagawa Kyoko were lucky for even after they went up to the fifth grade, they were still in the same class as their own objects of interests. Those three's hopes were answered by an assignment from their teacher. It was a group assignment in which they could choose their own group members. The group would be consisted of four members and would due in four days. Hearing that, three people had the same thoughts, 'This is the chance'. They immediately made their way to their target's table.

Hearing the word 'group assignment', Tsuna could only let out a sigh. He was sure that no one would pick him. He was the useless student. He would be the last choice and his teacher would be the one that assign him to one of the groups which short on member. He just needed to wait. That was why he only looked at the window. However, he was wrong. Just after the teacher said his dismissal to let the student look for their group, he felt some people approached him. He saw their reflection on the window. His eyes widened a bit in shock. 'Oh shit. Not them' he thought. He closed his eyes, tried to feign ignorance. He tried to act that he had not seen them. He succeeded for they were not close enough to be able see his reflection. They were also hindered by some people who wanted to ask them to be in their group.

Tsuna felt someone touch his shoulder. He groaned mentally and asked himself 'why him'. He calmed himself mentally and hoped that he could put on his poker face. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to the person who asked for his attention. Just like what he thought, he saw three his past slash future friends there. Yamamoto Takeshi and Sasagawa Kyoko were smiling at him while Kurokawa Hana only stared at him like he was a piece of meat. Just when his gaze swept over them, the feeling rushed to him. The grief and guilt came in full force. He struggled to put his mask back and he succeeded to do it in only a few moments. But the three of them saw the flash of emotions and decided to file it to their minds to be investigated later. He turned his gaze away from them and looked at his hand, bringing his dame-self back. He fiddled with his fingers and stuttered, "Y-yes, w-what can I-I help you with Ya-yamamoto-san, Sa-sasagawa-san, K-ku-kurokawa-san?"

Yamamoto decided to answer the question. "I want to be in one group with you Sawada. I think Kurokawa-san and Sasagawa-san also want to do the same." He said cheerfully. Tsuna looked at the other two and received small nods in confirmation. Tsuna tilted his head and asked, "W-why me?" This time the black haired girl who answered. "Why not?" Hearing the answer, Tsuna decided to agree. He did not want to have any argument right now. So, he was now had a group consisted with two school idols, the smart girl, and a loser. What a pair.

The first ten minutes of discussion was awkward for Tsuna. He could feel three pairs of eyes observed him. They also asked his opinion often and subtly tried to make him talk more. His opinion and answer seemed to please Kurokawa. He could feel that the girl stared at him like he was an interesting experiment object. That made him shuddered a little bit. "W-what's the matter Kurokawa-san? Is there something on my face?" He decided to ask to ease the stare. The black haired girl seemed to come to a conclusion and nodded. "Okay, you are not really a monkey," she nodded to herself quietly then looked at Tsuna, "I can put up with you. Call me Hana." "Huh?" was Tsuna intelligent answer. "Then call me Kyoko," the brown haired girl chimed in. "And call me Takeshi," the other boy added.

"B-but," Tsuna wanted to protest, but he was silenced by the look of the three gave him. One girl was glaring at him, challenging him to argue and the other girl was smiling at him brightly and he knew that her expression would change in a matter of few seconds if he protested. The other boy beside him also smiled at him, but his eyes gleamed with something. Tsuna knew they would pester him. "C-can I just call you with your family name? We just know each other today?" He decided to try once again. The other three children only stared at him. Okay, he gave up. "T-then please call me Tsuna," he gave them one of his bright smile. 

* * *

Tsuna was happy. Today, his past friends befriended him again. They even asked him to go to Takeshi's house to do their assignment, but he refused because he already had appointment with his uncle. He promised them he would help them the next day. He regarded this turn of event as one of his birthday gifts. The next day, they started to eat lunch together in classroom and hang out after school to do their assignment and chatted with each other. He was grateful for the chance, but he could still feel the pain when he saw their faces. Sometime instead of seeing three eleven years old kids, he saw three adults. Sometime he even saw their dying faces, their body full of wounds and bloods. Those times, he would lose his composure. His friends would wake him up from his memories. They never asked him about that for they felt they had not been friends for a long time. They did not want to pry to his past early in their friendship. They were afraid to make him closed himself again.

Tsuna's emotion was in turmoil these past four days since he got friends. He also did not have training for Kawahira gave him days offs to finish his assignment and for he was also had something else to do. The earthling needed to go to another country, Italy perhaps. He lost his ways to distract his mind and to make his body tired. The nightmare came. He would wake up in the middle of the night, panting and screaming. He was glad that his scream was not loud enough to wake his mother. Guilt came back, but with that his determination and resolve also got stronger. On the fourth day, he decided to do some training alone or perhaps just walked around to clear his mind. They had submitted their assignment and would eat together after school. Tsuna asked his friends to leave him out today. He had to persuade them and convinced them that they were still friends even after the assignment ended, that he was not running away, he just had something to do. He used his uncle as an excuse and they finally let him go.

Tsuna walked aimlessly. His eagerness to train diminished. He just needed to sort out his mind and put up the wall around his heart and mind again. After half an hour of walking, he found himself in the middle of yakuza's territory which he never went to. The place was deserted. There were only a few teenager and elder passed by. He was already far away from his school and his home. He could feel his intuition tingled, trying to warn of something. At the same time he heard screams and shouts from an alleyway behind him. His hero-complex which was he got from his ancestor, made him acted. He turned on his heels but immediately crashed into someone belly. He looked up and saw a scar-faced man. There were also two men on his left side and another one on his right side. His intuition screamed trouble. Oh, how he hate himself who was really prone to trouble.

"Oh, oh look what we have here," said the man who he crashed into. Tsuna remembered his manner said sorry. "I'm sorry, sir." He gave a slight bow. "What a well-mannered kid," said the man again. "Are you lost little kid? What are you doing here alone?" The man faked concern. "Do you get separated from your Mama?" asked the man's friend with sakura tattoo on his neck which went to his shoulder and got covered by his shirt. "Ah, no. I'm on my way home, sir." Tsuna kept his calm and took a glance to his surroundings. Now, the place really deserted. There were only him and those men. He then heard the scream again before he stopped abruptly. He glanced at the alleyway which was around 50 meters away from him.

"Why don't we walk you home? It's not safe to walk alone." This time a bald man was the one who talked. "No, but thank you, Sir. I'm fine," Tsuna tried to keep being polite. There was a murmured conversation between the scar-faced man and the sakura tattooed man. He could hear some of it which consisted of 'good boy', 'high price', 'easy prey'. He knew what their meant and could deduct that they were involved in some human trafficking. "But we insist," added the shortest man among the yakuza. Then all of them threw away the façade of being kind and helpful. Tsuna tensed up. It seemed he needed to fight.

Before those adults could grab him, Tsuna already kicked the man that was closest to him on the shin and threw his bag at his face. The poor victim was the bald man who offered to walk him home. He kneeled in pain, which made the other three men sprang up in action. Two men tried to grab him and the last one went behind him. He was able to slip out by ducking and rolled to the right. He stood up, went to his fighting stance then ran to the 'sakura' man and punched him on the stomach and chest several times. The man tried to punch him back but Tsuna was fast on his feet, and immediately swept the man off his feet. The man fell to his side, and unfortunately for him, he fell on his head which rendered him unconscious.

Just as Tsuna stood up, another man already behind him, trying to chop his neck to make him unconscious. Tsuna elbowed him and kicked back. He turned his body around and aimed another kick to the attacker's face. The strong force broke the man's nose. Fresh blood was trailing from his nose and he clutched to his nose. Feeling another presence, Tsuna ducked and made some space between him and the adult. Now, he faced the scarred man. The man aimed for his stomach. He gave an uppercut which was blocked by Tsuna. Then he brought up his knee to knee the boy's stomach which once again was blocked. Tsuna grabbed the raised knee with both hands, locked it, turned his body around and did a back kick. The man was pushed away. He fell, but still tried to sweep Tsuna with his long leg. Tsuna jumped and landed on the man's stomach. He then stomped on the chest and gave another kick to the head. Another one was down. From the corner of his eyes, he could see baldy and crooked nose had stood up and was about to approach him. Both of them came with the intention to kick and punch him. However, before they could touch him, he was already between them and attacked both of them. He kicked crooked nose's back which made him fell headfirst and fell on his broken nose. He fainted from the pain. He hit baldy with his fist quickly, each hit was precise to the pressure point. The man fell down and went to the dreamland. Four men had been defeated.

Tsuna stood up and straightened his back. Even though he already defeated his assailant, his intuition was still going haywire. Tsuna looked at his surrounding, and just like what his intuition told him there were more dangers. From the alleyway, came three men which one of them brought an unconscious kid on his shoulder. Another man had a woman on his back. Tsuna deducted that the kid and the woman were the one who screamed before. The alleyway group was not the only one who decided to come out. Tsuna could see from his left side another mob came out from the building. It was reinforcement. The mob was consisted of about 10 people. Some brought weapons. There were knives, wooden plank, bat, pipe, and katana. He just hoped that there was no gun. It was just his luck that he fought near one of the yakuza's office. Tsuna cursed his luck.

Without further ado, three men surrounded the boy. They tried to attack him at once. Tsuna's small figure gave him advantage. He dodged the attack and once again already between two of the assailant. He elbowed the man on his left and swept the guy on his right with his leg as he crouched down. He then ran and butted the third man on the stomach. The pipe had fallen from the man's clutch. Tsuna picked it up. Now, he also had weapon. He swung the pipe around in his hand like it was a baton and he was a majorette in a marching band. After he felt more familiar with the pipe, he lunged to the mob. He thrust his pipe, swung it up, swung it behind him, and even threw it. He used his leg to kick, his fist to punch, and sometime even his head to head-butt someone. He already took some men down, but not without some wounds. Some punches from the yakuza hit him, some knives were able to cut him, and the long weapons they had sometime knocked him. Even though he already knocked out some, it seemed that there were always others who came out. His little body and stamina could only do much. He could feel that he would reach his limit soon.

Tsuna forced his body to move. His speed had decreased. His movement was getting more sluggish and his aim was getting suck. Suddenly, his intuition screamed asking him to move his head to the left. He missed a bullet barely. The bullet grazed his right cheek, drawing a blood. Tsuna knew that he would be lost soon. Now some firearms were already out, and he already lost his stamina and he could not dodge effectively. Some shots would bind to hit him. 'Ah, where Ji-chan when I need him?' thought Tsuna. Unfortunately, the said man was out of town until tomorrow. He could summon his grandpa but the Primo could not do much in this fight. After all he was only spirit that could only interact with his descendants and flame holders. Tsuna knew there was only one way to win this fight, but that way had great risk. Yeah, he had to call on his flames.

Tsuna felt his body heated up. The flames tried to break out from his body, trying to protect its owner. Tsuna knew that the limiter from Kawahira would only be able to hold it for a few minutes, ten minutes maximal, if he let loose. He promised himself that the fight would be end in five minutes maximum. Thus, he let the flames coated his body. Now his punch was getting stronger with the flames. He regained his speed back. He would not throw his flames to these guys. He did not want rumor spread about some kid burning in flames and threw fireballs around. In three minutes, all men already unconscious or at least could not stand up.

Tsuna glanced at his limiter which was a silver band of bracelet on his left wrist. It cracked. It looked like he needed a new one. He could feel that his flames still needed to let out. He tried to regain his control over his flames back, but he knew his tired body could only hold it not for long. He needed to get help. He also needed to go home fast. But first thing first, he needed to do something about these yakuza. He walked to one of them and searched through his body, looking for his phone. After he found it, he called police and told the situation. He told them there was some gang fights and there was two civilian victims. He gave fake name as the caller and immediately went home without waiting the police.

Tsuna ran home. His feet were still coated in flames, which made him faster. The urge to let out the flames was getting stronger. He felt his body burning up again. Excess flames started to seep out, flickering around his body. After being held in for a long time, it was getting wilder. The flames demanded to have more freedom. The power wanted to be let out. Tsuna ran faster. He needed to get into his room where he would not hurt passerby. There, he could also call his grandfather to help him. Just a few meter away. He could already see his house. However, right in front of his gate, he fell down and burst in flames. The bracelet already shattered into ash. Bright flames came out from his body and lashed around. His chest hurt. He could not move his body. His vision got blurred. His head was getting dizzy and could not think clearly. He tried to still himself to call on his ancestor. Fortunately, the blonde man immediately came, already knew there was something wrong with his descendants.

Giotto saw Tsuna already curled up on the ground. He immediately went to his side, trying to see what he could do. The flames lashed around and he knew he could not channel his flames for it would only get slapped back. It would also hurt Tsuna more. Then he thought of something, but he was not sure if it would work or not nor he was sure whether he could do it or not, but at least he would try. Giotto reached out his hand to Tsuna. He touched Tsuna's forehead with his left hand while his right held Tsuna's right wrist. He concentrated and tried to pull out the excess flames. He was trying to absorb the flames. Giotto flinched when the flames seemed to burn him. But it was getting warm soon. The flames flickered out and started to die down. In exchange, Giotto's flame was getting brighter. He felt a little bit weird. It was like he could feel his body getting fuller, like something filled in his body. After it seemed that Tsuna was getting back to normal, he stopped the process and went out of his hyper mode.

Giotto helped Tsuna stood up for Tsuna was still weak on his feet. He opened the gate for Tsuna. He could touch the gate because he was in contact with Tsuna. Just when they took a step into the front yard, the door opened. Nana was the one who opened it. It seemed that she was not really expecting him. Her eyes got widened a bit. "Ara, it's you Tsu-kun? You already come back. Okaeri. I'm just putting the garbage out." greeted his mother. Tsuna replied with a late 'Tadaima'. Then he could feel his mother stare. "Why are you hurt?" Tsuna tensed up, but then his mother continued. "And, who's your friend?" At this, Tsuna got confused and let out a 'huh?' "Ah, where is our manner? Tsu-kun hurry up, go in with your friend and make tea for him," Tsuna just stared at his mother confusedly. "What friend?" he finally asked. His mother laughed. "Silly Tsu-kun, do you forget your friend who is standing beside you this whole time. Hurry up just got in. It's getting dark soon." His mother passed him to go outside to put out the garbage. She threw a smile at the place where Giotto would be and said, "Please feel at home."

Both Tsuna and Giotto walked into the house in autopilot because of the shock and confusion. When they already inside, they finally comprehend the situation. 'Did his mother just see Giotto?' thought Tsuna while Giotto thought of how Nana addressed him. How could this happen? Giotto was not supposed to be seen for he was only a spirit and did not have physical body. He could only be seen and interact with flame holders and his descendants or Vongola-direct-related people. For as long as Tsuna knew, his mother did not have the capability to access flames. So, what the heck just happened?

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sad :( There was only 2 people who answered my question and gave me some kind of feed back. Can you please leave me a review. I also have another questions for you guys.

1\. Do you think the arcobaleno cursed should be lifted sooner or not?

2\. Once again I ask, who wants some snippet of past memories?

And~ Please forgive me for that stupid attempt of fighting scene. It was my first try on fighting scene. I knew it was a mess. English is not my first language and my vocabulary especially fighting words are limited. Please pardon me. That's why~ please give some review and critique to help me improve ^~^ Last, but not least. Thank you for everyone who liked and followed this story. Some of you even marked this story as your favorite. Thank you all. Your feedbacks and reviews really motivate me. :)


	6. Another Start of Beautiful Friendships

Nana went back inside and found her son and his friends were deep in thought. They were stood still in front of the door. They had not even taken off their shoes yet. Nana tilted her head and voiced her thought, "Ara, Tsu-kun? Why don't you get in?" Her voice woke the two males from their daydream. The two males turned to look at her. Nana frowned up when she saw her son condition. Before she was distracted by the guest presence and her task of taking out garbage, but now she finally could assess her son condition more. There were several wounds on his body. His right cheek was grazed by something. There were dried blood on his cheek, and several parts of his body. She could also see bruises already forming. She asked once again. "Tsu-kun, why are you hurt? What happened?"

Tsuna knew he needed excuses fast. If he was the old Dame-Tsuna, he would only be able to stutter his answer out. But he was not that boy again. He was once a mafia boss. Thus, he could pull out a poker face and lie through his teeth. He still felt guilty to lie at his mother, but he did not want to make his mother worried. "I was chased up by dogs, tripped several times, fell, and scratched my face on a stone. Along the way, I also crashed onto some things, scratched by tree branch and whatever comes into my way," explained Tsuna as he forced himself to blush, to make it seemed he was embarrassed by his experience. The explanation seemed like what Dame-Tsuna would experience. His mother believed him. "You should be more careful, Tsu-kun," said his mother then her gaze shifted to the man beside her son. "Who are you, once again?" she asked.

Tsuna decided to answer for his grandfather. "Kaa-san, this is Giotto-san, er, um my friend" he started, "Giotto, this is my mom." Nana threw her welcoming smile to Giotto. "Hello Giotto-san, my name is Sawada Nana. Just call me Nana." Giotto also introduced his name formally. "Ah, Pleasure to meet you, Nana. I've heard a lot about you. My name is Giotto Vongola and also please just call me Giotto." Before Nana could ask more question, Tsuna butted in. "er, kaa-san. Can Giotto and I go to my room? We'll be down for dinner." Nana gave him her approval. "Okay, Tsu-kun and don't forget to treat your wounds." Hearing the approval, Tsuna immediately grabbed Giotto's hand and dragged him upstairs to his room.

Inside his room Tsuna released Giotto's hand from his grip and turned to the older man. "We need excuse on your background and how we meet et cetera. Last time, before Uncle Kawahira came, we already covered the background story. But this time, it is an unexpected event. We still don't know how long you'll stay solid and visible. That's why we need an impromptu story that will let you stay here and visit me often. Even though my mother will not question much about it, but others will especially with our similar looks. Do you have any idea?" Tsuna's mind was already on work. He already thought of several possibilities, but he still need suggestion from his ancestor. Then his thought came into a question that made him more worried. "Uh, Giotto," he trailed, "Can you go back to the ring or spirit realm or wherever you reside before? I mean, you have solid body right now."

Giotto did not answer with words. He immediately tested the possibility. He tried to get back but to his and Tsuna's disappointment, he failed and could not go back. "Okay, let's cover this fast," said Tsuna as he let out a sigh. Then they started to brainstorm. They put up the ideas together and filled the hole of each idea. Half an hour later they came up with two choices.

"So, we can tell your mother that I helped you when you tripped and you have met me several times before. Today, to match it with your story before, I also helped you when you got chased by dogs and tripped. However this cannot really cover of my extended stays here, if it really happens," said Giotto. "Or, we can tell that you're my distant relative from my father's side that heard about our family and decided to visit for you already have intention to move to Namimori. You are lost and bumped to me. We introduced ourselves and after hearing my name, you know that I am the one you're looking for. But if Kaa-san tells this to my father, he and the whole Vongola will get suspicious. And Kaa-san might ask you more about your family if we are relative." Tsuna told their second option. They went back into thinking. Each option had its own ups and downs. The first was probably the simpler one and would give them more flexibility in twisting their story later on. However, it did not give reasons for Giotto extended stay and how he would stay by Tsuna's side most times. His mother would ask of his occupation and such on. The second option would mostly answer people's question of their similar looks and would let Giotto to come to his house without suspicion. It would prevent rumors. After all, Nana was a woman and Giotto was a young man.

After a while, Tsuna came up with another idea. His eyes brightened and it seemed that a light bulb turned on in his mind. "How about this," Tsuna started, "We went with the first option. I'll ask my mom to let you sleepover tonight and perhaps several nights more. I'm sure she would agree. If not, I would become a whiny child for I already attached to you," Oh, how he hate to resort to that for inside he was a man already in his twenties. "For further accommodation you can stay at Uncle Kawahira's place. I'm sure he also has some kind of explanations to our current situation. Let's ask him after he comes back. For clothes, I have some money to buy you new clothes. Let's buy you some before dinner. We still have times. I will make excuses to mother. Then later on, if people ask we'll say that we are relatives. When my mother asks, just say that we know after a while. We'll work on more detail later on. We just need to answer my mother questions right now which I know for sure she won't ask for details."

"That seems okay enough for me. Let's go with that," Giotto nodded in agreement. Tsuna beamed at him, relieved that they reached a conclusion. "'Kay then. Now I'll take a short shower and after that we can go." Tsuna then left Giotto and went to bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he was already in new clothes, looking fresher. His wounds already tended and covered in bandages and bandaid. He went downstairs with Giotto and asked his mother to let him go outside to buy something and Giotto would accompany him. He got the permission with the promise to come home before dinner which would be in an hour. It seemed that his mother made another feast to celebrate the visit of his second friend.

They were back in time to put their shopping bags into Tsuna's room without being asked about its inside for his mother still busy preparing the table. They talked over diner and Tsuna's plan, or the half of it succeeded. At the end of diner, Nana let Giotto to stay over the night. She did not ask many questions. She did not ask for details. Yes she asked about Giotto's life but its general things like what his job and where he lived. She did not even ask about their uncanny resemblance to each other. Giotto answered that he did not have any job at the moment and he lived several blocks away (Kawahira's place). Then they talked mostly about life in general and about Tsuna. Nana felt happy that her son made another friend. She did not ask why her son only had older men as friends. She had nothing against her son preference of friends, but she also hoped that her son would have friends of the same age. Oh, if she only knew of her son and his friends real age. But at least, he could get friends of the same age of his physical body. Fortunately for her, her wish was already granted or was in progress.

* * *

Hibari Kyoya was Namimori protector. He should already in middle school but he still felt the need to protect the elementary school. The middle school already had the disclipinary committee. His right hand Kusakabe Tetsuya could handle it for now. He would join them on the second term. He could do as he pleased. Despite his young age, Hibari Kyoya already made a name in his hometown. His name alone could instill fear. His presence would silence people and make them run away to avoid him. He loved Namimori and would 'bite to death' everyone who dared to hurt his dear town. He ruled the town and would discipline anyone that disobeyed his rule, especially the one that disrupted the peace. He hated crowds and weakling. He saw others as herbivore and himself as carnivore that preyed on them, that ruled them. For as far as he knew, he was the only carnivore who resided in Namimori and protected it from harm and disgusting herbivore who disrupted the peace. That was why that one evening really picked his curiosity.

He was on afternoon patrol when he heard from his contacts that the police received a report of some gang fights and there were victims. The news roused his bloodlust. How dare those annoying herbivores disrupt the peace in Namimori. He would bite to death those herbivores before the police came. He went to the said place in full speed. However when he reached the location, he could not sate his bloodlust. Those herbivores already defeated by someone else before him. From his sharp observational skills, the beating was not from other yakuza. The bodies that littered on the ground were only from one group. If there were yakuza fights, there would be more bloodshed and there should be victims from both sides unless the winning side had time to bring all of their losses. Hibari crossed that possibility. His instinct told him that it was not done by other yakuza groups. It was done by some stronger group or better yet a carnivore like himself. Hibari grinned at his thought.

Hibari walked to one of the still conscious herbivore. He hovered over his unmoved body on the ground. "Herbivore," he called, "Who did this?" The man did not answer. Why should he? He did not have obligation to answer to this unknown boy. Oh, he did not learn from experience, did he? He should have learnt to not underestimate kid after his beating ten minutes ago. But, of course his mind was clouded by foolish pride and his arrogance. "Herbivore, answer me or I will bite you to death." Hibari Kyoya hated waiting and he already pulled out his tonfas to bite the herbivore to death. He did not care that the herbivore was already in no condition to defend himself. The man paled when he heard that phrase. He only knew one person who talked like that in Namimori. He heard the rumor about the demon boy who protected Namimori ruthlessly and now he faced the said demon. He immediately stammered his answer, "A-A b-bru-brunet b-boy. He had spiky brown hair. I don't know his name." Hibari put the tonfas back into its place again and replied with a 'Hn'. The man relieved that he did not need to feel the hit of the deadly tonfas. But a few moments later, he lost consciousness from Hibari's kick. At least he did not receive more torture.

The police only came to see bodies littered on the ground and one Hibari Kyoya standing on the middle of it. Of course, they came into a conclusion that he was the one who bite them to death. They immediately went to help the victims who started regained conscious. From them, the police knew that the yakuza tried to kidnap them. They searched through the building near there, and found their office. The yakuza was a new one and still tried to make a name. They named themselves 'Yama-gumi' for they want to be as big as mountain. They were the less noble one for they had human trafficking business and drug dealings. They mostly sold women and children. The police also later came into conclusion that Hibari actions had wiped out all the members of the yakuzas, thus the Yama-gumi already ceased to exist before it had chance to flourish.

When Hibari Kyoya heard that the police thought that he was the one who wiped out the yakuzas, he turned to the police and said. "Herbivores, it wasn't me." Then he walked away from the crime site. He did not want to take credit for other people's works. It would hurt his pride. He was not like those herbivores who really like some titles, ranking, and praises. But, this new carnivore really took his interest. He was a boy like himself and already wiped out a small yakuza family. Hibari looked forward to meet the boy, challenge him, and bite him to death. He smirked at his plan to meet the boy. He would use his resources to find the boy. Few minutes later when he was on his way to continue his patrol, he felt some strong power in the air. The power was calling for him, asking for a fight. He knew immediately, it came from that carnivore. His smirk widened, making more people shuddered and went away.

The next day Hibari paid more attention to the passing students at the gate. He went to his post one hour earlier than what he used to for he needed to look for a certain spiky brunet. His presence shocked many students. They tried to behave and avoid crowding in front of him. They walked in silence and in hurried pace. They did not want to stay long in Hibari's presence. During his lookout, he only found one boy with spiky brown hair. The boy stumbled right in front of him after seeing him at the gate and almost fell onto his face. He balanced himself quickly, and looked at Hibari. He flinched a little when he looked at the raven haired boy, but he greeted him. "Good morning, Hibari-senpai," he greeted then walked away. It was the first time this herbivore greeted him and looked him in the eyes. Hibari followed him with his eyes and noticed that he had some bruises. He had bandages on his body and bandaid on his cheek. He knew who the boy was. He was Sawada Tsunayoshi, which often called as Dame-Tsuna. He probably got the bruises because of his clumsiness when he tripped and feel or it could be from the bullies. However, Hibari's guts feeling told him that it was something different and he had another theory on his mind that might be seemed ridiculous to other person and even for himself. But, Hibari believed his gut feeling, thus he just needed to test his theory. A grin came up to his face and at the same time one Sawada Tsunayoshi shuddered.

* * *

After school, Tsuna's group of friends dragged him to Takesushi. It turned out that they postponed their plan because of Tsuna's rejection. They wanted to celebrate their new friendship and the end of the assignment and without Tsuna it was meaningless. Hearing the reason, Tsuna just smiled softly and let himself dragged. They ate and talked about themselves. Tsuna avoided the talk about him and just answered shortly and vaguely. He would redirect the conversation to talk about his friends' life instead even though he already knew most of them. He only said that there was nothing interesting in his life, he had no friends before, he only lived with his mother, and yeah, that was his uncle that picked him up even though it wasn't really his uncle. He did not indulge more on the later topic. After their times together, his three friends felt closer to him and felt that they knew him more. But they also knew that it was only a glimpse of who Sawada Tsunayoshi really was.

Tsuna came home to see Giotto and Kawahira had a cup of tea with his mother. "Ara, Tsu-kun comes join us. They have waited for you to come home. And why don't you tell me that they already know each other?" his mother beckoned him to come to the dining table. This morning, he escorted Giotto to Kawahira's place. He had the key and asked Giotto to wait there for Kawahira. He was coming home today. So it would be okay to wait there. But he did not expect that they would visit him immediately.

"Ah, I'm sorry, have you waited long?" asked Tsuna, not forgetting his manner. "It's alright Tsunayoshi-kun. We had good time chatting with your mother," his uncle said and gave him a mischievous smile. "Yeah, Tsuna we talked about you and get to know you better," added his grandfather with a cheeky smiled. Tsuna wondered what they talked about then his eyes darted to the books on the table. No, it was not a book. It was a photo album, his childhood photo album to be precise. Tsuna's face turned red, not from anger but from embarrassment. "Mom~," he whined. The three adults chuckled from his reaction.

"Tsu-kun you don't need to worry. Mama only talked about your cuteness. You are really adorable as a little kid and even until now," said his mother. The blush only deepened. "Okay, then. I'll leave you with your friends. I'll prepare dinner," added his mother, leaving her son with his friends. It was a cue for Tsuna to glare at his friends in which only made them smirked amusedly. "Humph," the expression of his annoyance, but once again his friends only smiled teasingly. In the end, Tsuna decided to ignore their behavior and reached out for their arms. He dragged them to his room.

"Okay, now tell me," Tsuna went straight to the important discussion. "We have a theory," started Giotto, "I absorbed a lot of your flames, enough to stabilize yours until now and also give some effects to me. The high density of your flames and the high voltage of fiamma voltages make my body solid and visible. However, this is only temporary because the quantity and the voltage were not enough to make it permanent. I will be back to my spirit-self tonight."

"I'm sorry about your limiter, Tsuna-kun. Here, I bring you a new one. I hope it is durable enough." Kawahira gave Tsuna another bracelet. Tsuna wore that bracelet on his left wrist. "I think we can use your excess flames that we had collected before and the future ones to make Giotto's body solid again. This way he can help you train more. I also already heard about Giotto's guardian. If you have enough flames you can also do the same to them for training," continued him. Tsuna just nodded along the explanation, absorbing the information.

"Will it burden my body?" asked Tsuna. "Yes and no," answered Kawahira with a vague answer. Tsuna stared at him, prompted him to elaborate. "Yes, because you still have different characteristic of flames in your body. It will burden you until your body start adapting to all of those flames or at least until they find a perfect balance. I'm afraid the stronger you get the more massive flames you get. But, you can handle it by having more control of your flames and find the perfect balances. If you give too much flames, it can also damage your body too for the balance will be damaged, and the flames will eat your body. No, because at the same time when you give your flames to others, you can lessen the massive flames. The recipient won't have the same complication as you because your body already acts as a buffer and a filter. The sky harmonization characteristic makes the flames able to adjust to the recipient's flame. It is kind of like how Bermuda feed his night flames to other Vindice, but unlike him you can give yours to anyone," elaborated Kawahira. Tsuna nodded again, showing his understanding.

"Then, I think we should proceed to the flames training. Yesterday's experience told me that my body can already handle the flames to some extent, but it's clear that I really lack control," Tsuna said, giving his own opinion. Both adult nodded, showing their agreement to Tsuna's opinion. "We'll start tomorrow," replied the white haired man.

"Ah, now when we already making some progress in my training, Uncle, I also have a favor, no several favors to ask. May I?" said Tsuna. "It depends of what your favors are, Tsunayoshi." Kawahira said seriously. Tsuna went to his desk, open the first drawer, and took out a piece of paper. He gave the paper to Kawahira. "First, may I ask you to locate several people on this list? I need to meet them or at least know their conditions. My skill is not good enough to really locate their exact location. Second, can you bring me to Italy and to some of their location on winter break? Even though I'm half-hearted in leaving my mother alone, it is needed to be done. I need you and perhaps Giotto to be my reason to go and also accompany me. My movements as a child are really limited. I also need you to cover my movement from Vongola and underground. Third, please help me meet the Vindice, you don't need to show yourself to them, just provide me a situation to meet them. Fourth, please warn Nono about the despair that will befall him. Last, about the curse, what we can do about it? "

Kawahira scanned the list. He knew all of the names on the list. Mukuro Rokudo and his gang, all Arcobaleno, Chrome Dokuro, Gokudera Hayato, Byakuran Gesso, Spanner, the Shimon and Talbot, he already knew where they were right now. After all, he just checked on them on his last outing which was several days ago. He also gave warning to the holders of Tri-ni-set to be more cautious and protect it. The Mare holder still had not been chosen yet. Byakuran Gesso had not realized his power yet. Kawahira thought over all of Tsuna's request and considered each request whether it was a good idea to grant it or not. The room fell into silence. Giotto grabbed Tsuna's shoulder, giving him support. Tsuna turned to him and gave him a grateful smile. Then they waited for the Tri-ni-set administrator's answer.

All of Tsuna's requests had the same goal: save and help his friends. If he could ease their pain and prevent them to experience some agonizing events then he would do it. His friends had already on his mind since the beginning. Yes, at first it was painful to remember them. The bittersweet memories made his heart ached. At the same time, it gave him stronger resolution. He did not want the same end. He had promised himself that he would use the most of this chance to save them and made a better future. No, he did not want to somewhat manipulate his past friends to become his friends again in this timeline. He would still let them to make their own decision. He would extend his hand to give them friendship and companion for life, but it would still their decision whether to accept it or not. He just wanted to save them from their own despair and darkness. He would spare them the pain.

He, himself, already had some guesses on the location of several people. Byakuran most likely was still in Gesso mansion. Rokudo Mukuro was in Lancia's place in Northern Italy, or so he hoped. Chrome Dokuro was still in her house. Gokudera Hayato was somewhere in Italy. Reborn was probably still tor-tutoring Dino. Yuni was still a young kid and probably Aria still alive and they lived in Giglio Nero mansion. Lal Mirch was with his father and Colonello was in Mafia land. Fon was in China. Tsuna did not ask about Varia, because he knew they would only act after Xanxus was free from his ice cage. He would let them for now, but he would surely prevent the kidnapping of Nono.

Despite his high dreams, he realized that he could not save everyone. He wanted to save Nono's sons, but he did not really know them and their date of deaths. He could only warn him. He also knew that some things were bound to happen, but he would still try his best in preventing some things to happen.

"Alright," Kawahira said, breaking the silence, "I will do your favors." Tsuna looked at him with hope, but still refrained himself to say thank-you yet. Kawahira had not said which one he approved. "Which one?" asked Tsuna. "I will do the first until the fourth one," he answered. Kawahira did not say anything about the last one. "What about the last one?" questioned Tsuna again. Kawahira did not say that he refused it directly. "It's not the time yet. We can do it just like the last time, but we need more flames. Yours is not enough," said him. "What if it ended like the last time, if the same things happened?" Tsuna asked again. "That's why you are here, Sawada Tsunayoshi. It is your job to prevent it." Kawahira gave him a solemn answer.

* * *

It was the start of new week, another day of school. One Hibari Kyoya was already waiting at the gate since early morning. He wanted to test his theory this morning. He was already impatient and hoped that his target would come quickly. He wanted to bite him to death already. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for his target, he saw his target five minutes later, walking to him. He grinned and had difficulty to contain his excitement and bloodlust. He just needed to wait a few moments more until his target approached him and realized his presence.

Tsuna's intuition warned him about something when he was about to go to school. It was not something really critical and dangerous, so it was not about assassin or mafia. He could not decipher what it meant, but if he associated school with danger, he could only come up with one answer: Hibari Kyoya. He had a feeling that he would get in trouble with him. He could not ditch school for Hibari would chase him and bite him to death more. He could only hope that he would able to avoid him during school. Therefore, he went earlier but on his way, the warning got louder. He finally knew why when he saw Hibari Kyoya already at the gate with a devious grin and obvious bloodlust. His intuition said that he was waiting for him and once again, his intuition was right. Just when his eyes met the tonfa-wielding boy, the older boy lunged to him with both tonfa already on his grip.

"HIEEE!" Tsuna let out a surprise shriek. He cringed at his own high-pitch voice and unconsciously dodged the attack to his chest. Hibari thrust his right tonfa to Tsuna's temple. In reflex, Tsuna moved his head to the right. Hibari's grin got wider. Seeing Hibari's wider grin, Tsuna could only thought, 'Oh shit, he got interested in me.' Hibari aimed his left tonfa to Tsuna's stomach, but Tsuna jumped back and moved his body to the left, missed the tonfa barely. "What's my fault, Hibari-san?" he asked.

Hibari tempted to keep attacking the brunet, but hearing the question he thought that he should gave him some explanation. "Fight me." Yup, there was his explanation and he immediately lunged at the younger boy again. He swung his right tonfa to Tsuna's head, Tsuna ducked, only to meet the left tonfa in front of his face. He was forced to grab the tonfa to avoid being hit, but immediately let go of it and jumped back, avoiding another hit from the other tonfa. Wrong movement, the act of grabbing the tonfa only fueled Hibari's interest more. "Are you a herbivore or a carnivore?" Hibari asked in the middle of pointing his tonfas to Tsuna's neck and stomach. Tsuna blocked both tonfas with his arms. He could feel Hibari's power. It was powerful for kids his age but it still lacked a lot and only gave him a slight pain. Tsuna did not answer Hibari's question. Tsuna kept dodging and blocking the attacks. He did not have any intention to fight back which irritated Hibari. He was glad at least he already had six months of training to get his reflex and some of his skill back or he would already be a dead meat right now.

"Attack me," demanded Hibari. Tsuna replied with "Why should I?" and kept dodging. Hibari was frustrated. He did not like to be the one who attacked with no clear hit. It seemed that he was being played by this person. He suddenly stopped his attacks and lowered his tonfa which made the other boy curious but still in guard. Hibari still needed to decide what to call the other boy. He still could not decide whether the boy was a carnivore or a herbivore. Hibari felt that the boy was neither. The boy was too soft-hearted and clumsy to be a carnivore but stronger and more cunning than a herbivore. He was in between. Hibari finally decided what to call him.

"Omnivore," called Hibari. Tsuna raised his eyebrow at that. Waw, Hibari already called him an omnivore this early. "Answer me, are you the one who wiped out those herbivores and taking my prey?" Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked. Hibari tempted to just bite him again because Hibari Kyoya did not answer to anyone. But he needed answer himself. "Several days ago, a group of troublemaker herbivores were defeated by a single person and there were two civilian victims that was about to be sold," he explained. Ugh, how Hibari Kyoya hated to explain and go in detail. It was Kusakabe Tetsuya's job. Unfortunately, he was not there right now and Hibari had to do the job.

Hibari saw the flash of recognition on the brunet, but he covered it quickly. No one would be able to catch it if they did not really pay attention and observe his movement. 'Hmm, this omnivore good,' he thought and he did not need to wait for verbal answer from the boy. "Hn, Come to rooftop at 6 A.M tomorrow," demanded him and walked away, leaving the boy alone to process his words.

Several minutes passed before the boy finally processed the words and let out his infamous shriek. "HIEEEEEE!" Some things never changed.

* * *

Sasagawa Ryohei was the older brother of Sasagawa Kyoko. He was the opposite of his sister. While his sister had calm demeanor, he had boisterous and loud characters. He liked to do things the extreme ways. He was obsessed with boxing and trained his body vigorously. His extreme behavior often made his sister worried. His sister did not like to see her brother fought because he had severe injuries one day after a group of older boys beating him. But, other than his love to that extreme sport, Ryohei also fought to protect. Ryohei was forced to lie and made stupid excuses to his sweet sister each time he received new wounds. Fortunately for him, his sister was gullible and innocent.

Ryohei wanted to share or infect other people with the same enthusiasm to boxing. He liked to meet extreme person who could fight and liked to fight with him. Each morning he would jog around Namimori before going to school. He sometime met Yamamoto Takeshi, a kouhai of his and a fellow athlete during his morning jog. He would ask him to join boxing, but the younger boy would refuse because he already belonged to the baseball club. In the elementary school, there was baseball club but no boxing club. Ryohei promised himself he would join boxing club in middle school. He just needed to wait a little bit more.

The one thing Sasagawa Ryohei hated was someone who hurt his little sister. He did not like people take advantage of his innocent sister. One of his goals in life was to make his sister happy other than protecting her. Despite of being clueless, short-minded, had short-term memory, and lack of capability to think thoroughly, he could read his sister emotion. He realized that there was something bothering her mind these days. He hoped that it was not someone for he would punch that someone in the face for making his sister frowned. One day, his sister came home all smiles and it seemed like she just ate her favorite cakes, but that day was not her appreciative day, and Ryohei knew that. So, he asked her what happened to make her so happy.

Kyoko said that she and Hana just made new friends who were Yamamoto Takeshi and Sawada Tsunayoshi. Ryohei already familiar with the former boy and only heard about the later boy. He knew that he had brown spiky hair and was a short boy. He already saw him several times. He was famous of being Dame-Tsuna. However, Ryohei did not want to judge someone without meeting and knowing them beforehand. Ryohei knew that his sister rarely had interest to other boys. So he asked bluntly whether she had crush on one of them or not. Kyoko blushed and denied it. She then told him that the one who took her interest was the later boy and the former boy also had the same interest with the boy. That was why she, Hana, and Takeshi befriended the boy. Kyoko talked and talked about the boy, about Hana and Takeshi's interest on him, about her own interest, about his changes, about the emotions on the boy's eyes. Ryohei listened intently to Kyoko's story. He did not understand most of it, but at the end of the story, he was also interested with that boy, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Ryohei finally got the pleasure of meeting the said boy one morning on his morning jog. He was already on his third rounds of jogging and decided to slow down and cool down for a moment before started running in extreme pace again. He was about to reach his school when his eyes saw something mesmerizing. Hibari Kyoya was in the process of biting someone to death. It was everyday occurrence, but what made it mesmerizing was he failed to do so. His target of violence kept dodging and Hibari could not make a clear hit. And guess who his victim was? It was none other than the said dame student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. At first, he dodged almost clumsily, but then it got better. The flow of his movement got better like he could read the other's attack. He could also block several attacks and grab Hibari's tonfa. The sight froze Ryohei, his feet rooted to the ground. He was mesmerized with the one-sided fight and it was on Hibari's side. Even until the fight ended Ryohei still rooted in his place. It was only after a loud girlish shriek heard in the neighborhood, that Ryohei finally woke up from his trance and replied the shriek with his own shout, "EXTREMEEEE!", making the boy shrieked again and fell on his butt.

Ryohei ran to the boy's side. "EXTREME! THAT WAS AN EXTREME SHOW SAWADA!" The brunet flinched at the volume. "A-ano… emm.." He did not know what to reply on that statement. Uh-oh, he made a big slip up. On the same day, two people had seen a glimpse of his power. "AH, I AM SASAGAWA RYOHEI, I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM KYOKO. YOU ARE AN EXTREME MAN! NICE TO MEET YOU! YOU CAN CALL ME ONII-SAN FROM NOW!" Waw, another fast progress. Ryohei already asked Tsuna to call him 'onii-san' and what was that about Kyoko told Ryohei about him. Tsuna could only hope that she did not tell anything bad about him. "Ahh.. H-hai. Nice to meet you too onii-san," replied Tsuna timidly.

"DO YOU LIKE BOXING? HOW ABOUT WE GO BOXING TOGETHER? AH, LET'S DO SOME EXTREME JOGGING RIGHT NOW!" And, Ryohei dragged Tsuna into another round of extreme jogging. That day was the start of another beautiful friendship. Tsuna's life would start getting more loud, exciting, and eventful or to borrow Ryohei's word, more extreme. It was the start of how Sasagawa Ryohei and Hibari Kyoya kept pestering him and bugging him for sparing.

* * *

**A/N: **What bullshit did I just write? -_- Hahaha. I think I haven't done my best with this chapter especially at the beginning of this chapter. Thank you for all the reviews you gave to me. Hope that this chapter good enough. Next chapter will be about Tsuna's Winter Break which is not really a break XD. Stay tune in!


	7. Winter Break or is it Winter Work?

Winter break was coming. Tsuna already received permission to go on vacation with Kawahira from his mother. When he asked for permission his mother only answered with "Of course you can go, Tsu-kun. How nice of him to ask you join his vacation?" Oh, if only his mother knew the truth. He had asked his mother if she wanted to join them, but she refused saying that she already had plan with their neighbors. Tsuna also refused the invitation of his friends to spend the winter break together, saying that his uncle already asking him to go on vacation together. When they asked where their destination was, Tsuna only shrugged, saying that his uncle said it was a surprise.

One and a half month already passed after Tsuna started his flame training. After that time when he lost control, his training regime got harder. Giotto and his guardians started giving him flame training. He needed to get used being exposed to the flames. He needed to get used making and receiving the flames. He made big flames, medium flames, small flames, tiny flames. He practiced shaping his flames. The other guardians attacked him with their flames, trying to build his endurance to other flames. Not only flames, the guardians taught him how to use weapons, from sharp weapons to firearms. In the previous timeline, he would only rely on his flames, skill to fight and guns. He needed to add more into his arsenals. His training regime was also added by sparing with Hibari in the morning and Ryohei sometimes after school. He would also still make time to his other friends and hang out with them. Now, his stamina and endurance had improved greatly. He could produce stable flames for longer times. He was able to go to dying will mode without losing his clothes. But he could not reach hyper dying will mode yet.

After three weeks, Takeshi, Hana, and Kyoko noticed some bruises and asked him if he was bullied or even worse being abused. Yeah, Tsuna was still bullied, but he could avoid them now. Tsuna was tired after morning sparing with Hibari so he only shook his head and just said 'Hibari'. That one word almost made the three of them—yes, even sweet Kyoko—to march to Hibari and told him off, damn the consequence. Fortunately, Tsuna could stop them before they could walk to their own doom. Tsuna realized that even if the three of them attacked Hibari together, they would still be bitten to death. Tsuna spluttered his explanations that Hibari just wanted to spare with him, like what he did with Ryohei. That just roused more questions, like since when he did that, whether Hibari threatened him or not, how it happened, and about Tsuna's own fighting skills. The next day they came early to see Tsuna's sparing with Hibari. Ryohei tagged along after heard the plan from his sister. Of course, the skylark hated the crowd and wanted to bite them to death, but he was stopped by the brunet. Tsuna said that he would stop sparing with him if he hurt them. Hibari immediately stopped and urged Tsuna to start their sparing. The spectators were amazed by Tsuna. He could talk to the said demon child and stop him from attacking someone. He could even fight on par with the strongest person in Namimori. When he was asked where he learned that, he said from family and no, it was not Nana. When he was questioned about the reason why he learnt to fight he answered with a solemn expression, 'to protect'. The solemn expression silenced them and made them hesitated to asked more question. Those things just added to the mystery of Sawada Tsunayoshi that his friends tried to solve.

Tomorrow was finally the day he would go to Italy with Kawahira. This winter break he would be really busy. There were many places to go, many people to meet, many plans to be executed, and he had only little time. He already prepared his clothes and some money that he saved up from his side job as informant and hacker, and sometime translators. He only brought his mitten for his weapon. It would be such a hassle to bring others noticeable weapons when they passed the airport security. Tsuna went to sleep with the hope that everything would go smoothly.

* * *

Of course with his luck, it would be difficult to have a smooth process. He just landed in Italy, and already met some troubles. After only ten minutes' walk in Verona, he lost Kawahira. Yeah, he had lived in Italy for several years before, but he was not really familiar with the northern part. He mostly stayed in Sicily for Vongola's base and most mafia's bases were in Sicily. He never really ventured deeper to northern Italy. If the man wanted to disappear, he should at least leave him at his destination or the place he knew of, Tsuna was annoyed. And if most mafia's bases were in Sicily then why was he took a flight to Verona and not to Palermo? Ask that to Kawahira, or so Tsuna grumbled and blamed Kawahira on his lack of knowledge on northern part of Italy. The answer was he was looking for his friend's location somewhere in the northern part, and yes, that friend also involved in mafia. Contrary to popular belief,—even the northern Italy's resident belief itself—there were also mafia in northern Italy. There were also some big family and clans in Milan, Brescia, Verona, Bologna, Venice and several other cities in northern Italy. He hoped those mafias did not think that it was a good idea to kidnap some lost kid like him.

He already walked aimlessly for 15 minutes and his luck just got worse. He saw his father, Basil, Tumeric, and Oregano were walking toward him. They were at narrow alleyway, where there were only few people lingering and a few food stands. Fortunately for him, they did not seem to notice him yet as they were so focused in their conversation. He panicked. 'Oh, oh what should I do? What the hell they even do here?' he thought and cursed in his mind. Tsuna surveyed the area. His eyes landed on a few tables, chairs, and boxes beside a fruit stand. Tsuna ran to the boxes and hid behind them. He crouched on the ground and pulled a chair to hide him better. The fruit seller was busy with the customer so he went unnoticed. Tsuna held his breath and waited for the group of CEDEF passed him. After a few minutes they finally passed him and he could hear their conversation.

"It's getting more serious, isn'it?" He could hear his father's voice. "Yeah, the numbers of victims are increasing rapidly. Some small clans even already wiped out. There was also no exact pattern to the killing. This really creates unrest to cosa nostra," a woman's voice replied him and she whispered the 'cosa nostra', but Tsuna could still hear her. He was sure that she was Oregano. "The motives?" asked Iemitsu. This time the other man was the one who replied. "Unknown. Like what Oregano said, there was no pattern, thus he can't decide the real motives yet. It seems like they attacked every clans they came unto." The blonde made some grunt noises. It seemed that he was thinking. Tsuna could hear their steps beside his hiding place. Tsuna froze in his place, and prayed that they would move faster.

His luck betrayed him again. The steps stopped right in front of the food stall. "Good day, signore and signora. What can I help you with?" said the seller with cheerful voice after he finally realized some new potential buyers. "Ah, good day to you too. Good apples you have there. May I get two kilos of those?" Tsuna heard his father's cheerful voice. 'Shit, why the heck that stupid father of me decided to buy some apples right here and right now?' Tsuna groaned inwardly.

"So, have you heard anything suspicious happening around here lately?" asked Iemitsu again in friendly voice. The seller paused a moment before continuing putting some more apples to a bag. "Hm, yeah I think. The number of murders just increased these days. Yesterday, few blocks from here, there was a massacre of a small company. Police suspect it may be the doing of rival company. Ah, it makes citizens and sellers like me scared, after all that company was the one who ruled and protected the business around here." The man put the bag of apple onto a scale, to make sure that it was two kilos. "Ah, is that so? That's really concerning. Is there any specific suspect?" Iemitsu asked another question. "No, there was no strong clue or evidence found yet. But there is a rumor that there were fights inside between themselves before the tragedy." The seller gave the bag to Iemitsu and Iemitsu gave him a few bills. "Thanks for the news update. Here, keep the change." The money was more than enough. It was double the original price. The seller grinned. "Happy doing business with you, please come again." The group of CEDEF just gave a nod and continued on their way.

Tsuna peeked from behind the boxes and just his luck his eyes immediately met Basil's who was the last one to walk. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Tsuna ducked again. Basil tilted his head, asking to himself about the boy's behavior. The boy could not be a spy, could he? Basil dismissed the thought. Spy would do better than peeking like that. It seemed the boy just another street rat who was trying to steal some fruits. At that thought, Basil pitied the boy.

"Basil? What's wrong? Let's go," called Iemitsu. "Si, Master," he replied then jogged to catch up with the adults. Tsuna let out a relieved sigh. He waited a few more minutes before he got out from his hiding place. Now, it was time for looking for that old man again.

* * *

Kawahira only let Tsuna out from his vision for five minutes and that boy already disappeared. What a skill. Now, he had to look for the boy. He hated to mingle with human, but he was forced to because of the boy. He had to ask information. No. He crossed that thought. He did not want to ask those human. It was too much hassle. He would just rely on his instinct and his sense of flames, but unfortunately, he just gave the boy a new limiter that would mask his flames for this trip without the boy's knowledge. Ah, he should tell him sooner and ordered him not to disappear as he wished. He hoped the boy had not met any troubles yet. However, Kawahira was not really sure. One thing that he knew about the boy was that the boy was a magnet to trouble. Kawahira corrected his wish. He hoped that the boy had not met any big and serious trouble yet.

* * *

Tsuna tired of walking aimlessly. No, it was not his body that protested. His stamina was already good enough after training for more than six months. If he could not handle this small walk, he was sure that some of his trainers would gladly give him some extra training. It was his mind that protested. He did not want to get lost to the really bad side of the city and had a reply of what happened in Namimori. He knew that the level of the assailant's skill here would be higher than some new yakuza. If he also let out his flame during some fight, he was sure that he would attract some unnecessary and unwanted attention. That was why Tsuna decided to sit still at one place and waited for Kawahira. He sat at a bench near a fountain and hugged his backpack.

The waiting made him thinking about the conversation he heard before. He could piece the information. It looked like that Mukuro was already on the move. Ah, stupid pineapple. He just hoped that Vindice was not onto him yet. He had to find him fast before there were more victims or before he killed the family that took him. For now, he could only wait for Kawahira to find him. Tsuna enjoyed the scenery. Ah, he really missed Italy, the old tall buildings and several fountain in the city, the statues, the people, the smell of coffee, the pasta. Italy was really beautiful. After he got past his nostalgia, Tsuna could feel he was getting sleepy. The cold breeze made him sleepy and cold. He hugged his bag tighter and buried his face onto the bag.

"Boy, it's not good to run away from home." A man's voice was heard, waking up Tsuna from his sleepiness. The man probably guessed he was a runaway boy because of his rather big backpack. Tsuna immediately upped his guard and slowly raised his head. He was faced with a black haired tall man with a scar—or is that a tattoo—on his right jawline. The man had strong aura and seemed scary, but he had a sincere smile on his face which made him less scary.

"Ah, don't be afraid. I will not harm you. I'm just a curious passerby. Do you have places to go? If not, I think there are still some places in my family house. It's in Brescia. I'm on business right now and will go home tomorrow. You can stay there until you clear up your mind. I'm sure my charges will also like new friend," reassured the man. Tsuna only stared at the man at that and looked around him, trying to find some companions that the man possibly brought with him. "Ah, I forget to introduce my name," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm Lancia," the man introduced himself. Tsuna knew the man from the first time his eyes landed on him. That was why he looked around him, trying to find a purple haired boy that might be with him. But there was no other person than the man. This time, Tsuna thanked his luck. He was able to meet one of his target at his first day in Italy.

"I'm Tsuna and I'm not a runaway," Tsuna said with flawless Italian. Lancia raised an eyebrow at the name. "Tsuna? You are Japanese? But you speak Italian. Waw, kid you're great," the man complimented Tsuna which made Tsuna flushed a little. "Then are you a tourist?" Tsuna nodded. "Are you lost?" Tsuna nodded shyly. The man chuckled. "I'm sorry for my random and perhaps rude guess. Let me help you. Do you get separated from your parents?" Tsuna shook his head. It made the man confused, but Tsuna then said, "I don't go with my parents, I go with uncle. He has white hair and wear glasses. He wears green t-shirt and blue jeans." The man took the words as a green light to help the brunet. "Okay, then let's go find your uncle." The man extended his hand to Tsuna which Tsuna grabbed. Tsuna stood up and wore his backpack again, then grabbed the man's hand again.

"Where was the last time you saw him?" Tsuna crunched his eyebrows, remembering the last place he saw him. He did not really remember. "It was ten minutes' walk from the airport, I think. But uncle never said where we headed to," _Because he said he still needed to check on your current place_.

"The airport was on the other side of the town. How you can get lost this far, kid?" Tsuna just blushed and bowed his head. Oh, if only his intuition would also work as a GPS, but sadly it did not work like that. It just warned him about danger and guided him to location that it deemed really important in the time of great danger to him or his family. After this, he needed to buy map and asked Kawahira each places they would visit.

"Lancia," someone called the man beside him, making both of them stopped. They looked to the owner of the voice that called who was running from the direction of where Tsuna waited before. The voiced belonged to a purple haired pineapple boy which he was familiar with. "What's wrong, Mukuro?" asked Lancia. "Ken ran off again and Chikusa went to find him, but they haven't been back yet. It already passed their usual time," said the boy then he turned to look at the boy beside his caretaker. Mukuro looked at the brunet suspiciously. "Kufufu… Who is he?"

"He's Tsuna. He's lost. I'm helping him to meet his uncle." Tsuna looked at the illusionist and introduced himself. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but call me Tsuna, nice to meet you." "Mukuro Rokudo," replied the other boy shortly. "Then, let's find Chikusa, Ken, and Tsuna's uncle together," said Lancia again. Tsuna nodded and Mukuro just stared at Tsuna.

Mukuro was wary about the brunet even though the boy looked harmless and innocent. The boy was also clumsy, he tripped several times. But, Mukuro knew there was something more than what meet the eyes about the boy. Meanwhile, Tsuna could feel that Mukuro was observing him. It made him a little bit nervous which made him tripped several times. Tsuna also made his own observation about the older boy. He was more open and showed more expression. Perhaps it was because he had to keep acting as an innocent boy in front of Lancia. Though, Tsuna saw that there was also some genuine expression especially when Lancia ruffled the boy's hair. There were annoyance, a little bit of affection, gratitude, and guilt. But those emotions immediately locked up inside metal cage inside Mukuro's heart. He still had revenge and goal to be fulfilled.

When Lancia talked to some street vendors for some information, Tsuna decided to talk to Mukuro. "Why don't you stop it?" said Tsuna without looking at the older boy, instead he was looking at Lancia. "Kufufu, what do you mean, boy?" asked Mukuro still with his creepy laugh. "Isn't he the one who take you in and give you family?" Tsuna replied with another question. Mukuro narrowed his eyes. "What do you know?" Mukuro hissed at the brunet, he was ready to take out his trident at any moment. Tsuna then turned at the now angry boy with a look that said 'I know what you don't know' which made the older boy got angrier. "What I know is that revenge is a futile thing. It will only bring more hatred and grief. You'll only know what you lost after you got your revenge and feel empty. Your need of revenge will only bring you down. Yeah, there's a saying 'eye for an eye and tooth for tooth.' Getting even seems good and the best act if your dear one got hurt by others. I don't judge you if you want to take a revenge for what you've been experienced. However, if you dragged others that have nothing to do with your past experience, isn't it selfish and really narrow minded? There are still good people out there, Mukuro, even in this wrecked and darker side of the world. Don't take out your anger on everyone. Don't put everyone under the same category. Don't lose your faith so easily like that. Your former family may be some assholes but you already have a new family that care for you, haven't you? Open your mind, open your heart and perhaps you'll find more people you can call family. Just enjoy your new freedom."

Mukuro was getting warier every minute. How did the boy seem to know much about him? Did he just guess? No, he was sure that the boy knew what he talked about. Who was him to preach on him "How? Who are you? Are you in cosa nostra? I thought you're Japanese. Answer or else," Mukuro threatened. Tsuna was not afraid. "It's a secret. Everyone has their own secret, right? If you insist, then just say that it's my intuition. I'm just a tourist from Japan, but yes perhaps there was some Italian blood in me. For yours last question, yes and no, it's complicated. A secret and a mystery make everything more interesting, don't you think?" Tsuna winked and smiled mysteriously, right at the time Lancia came back.

"Okay good news, the street vendors, saw the man who was seemed like your uncle, Tsuna. They also saw boys that seemed like Ken and Chikusa. Let's go." They continued their searching. Tsuna felt he got more intense look from Mukuro along the way. He knew that he should have more tact and did not talk bluntly like that. It already let out from his mouth, so he could not—and did not want to—take them back. Now, he could only gamble on his words to reach Mukuro's heart instead of making him accelerate his plan of revenge or worse, taking it out on him.

Lancia asked a few more times before finally they stopped in front of an Asian restaurant. They went inside and found Kawahira along with Ken and Chikusa. They were eating ramen. Tsuna got annoyed. He was waiting and looking for him and looked what his uncle did, eating some ramen.

"Uncle," Tsuna hissed, making his uncle turned to look at him. "Ah, hi there, Tsuna. I finally find you," the supposed to be caretaker of the brunet said with a mouth full of noodles. "No, I found you. I was waiting and looking for you. I'm just a kid and lost in a foreign country and what you do? You are here eating some ramen calmly. Dammit, you suck as a caretaker," Tsuna glared at Kawahira. "Hey, I'm also looking for you, but I need to replenish my energy and I found this wonderful restaurant," the man said to defend himself. Before Tsuna could retaliate, someone else cut the conversation.

"Kakipi, look Lancia and Master Mukuro are here, byon." Chikusa just nodded and fixed his glasses. The blonde then slurped some more noodles. "It's delicious, byon. You should try, Master, Lancia." He said cheerfully. "Hn," the other boy agreed. "Hey, old man, can I eat another bowl, please?" The blond boy turned to Kawahira and asked him cheerfully. "No, you already ate two. The ramen in this place is expensive," Kawahira refused.

"Ken, do you know that man?" asked Mukuro while Lancia just observed the situation and Tsuna still glaring at Kawahira. "Master, this man treats us for lunch, byon. We were hungry and didn't have money. We tried to pickpocket this man, but we caught red-handed, then he scolded us, byon. Then the growl of our stomach cut off his lecture and he asked us to join him for lunch instead, byon." Ken told the story with kid's excitement. Lancia who heard the story immediately looked at Kawahira. "I'm sorry for the trouble, sir. I'm Lancia, their caretaker. I'll pay for their meals."

Kawahira just waved him off, "Ah, no need. It's fine. I'm Kawahira. I see that you already meet my charge here. Thank you for bringing him here." He ruffled Tsuna's hair which made him huffed in annoyance. "You also take care of my charges there. By the way, your Italian's good and so does Tsuna, but you don't seem an Italian." The black haired man was looking for more information about the man. His upbringing made him cautious. "Ah, it's because I have business in trading. I need to master few languages to be able to have smooth business. We don't want to have others to trick us into some damaging contract, do we?" said the white-haired man with a smile. The other man nodded, showing his understanding of that topic.

Tsuna finally felt hunger after a long search. He tugged Kawahira's shirt and looked up at him."Ne, ji-san, can I eat too?" He asked and slipped into Japanese. The man just nodded, giving his approval, in turn, Tsuna gave him a grateful smile. Tsuna then looked at the boy who came with him and smiled widely. "Mukuro, let's eat," he then dragged the boy to the chairs and started looking at the menu, leaving the adults to talk. Mukuro was a little bit taken aback by the smile and the change of attitude. Was this boy a bipolar? His mood seemed to change quickly. It made Mukuro warier. "Ne, ne, Mukuro what do you want to eat?" Mukuro just looked blankly at the brunet. "Ah, you seem can't decide. Okay, then I'll choose for you," the brunet said and then told the waiter about their order.

"Hey, who are you, byon? Show some respect to Master Mukuro, byon. Kakipi, punish him, byon." The blond boy growled angrily. "Why should I? It's troublesome," the other boy replied monotonously. Tsuna looked at his new companion and introduced himself cheerfully. "Hello, I'm Tsuna. Nice to meet you. What's your name?" He threw them a blinding smile which made them flushed a little—along with Mukuro who still observing the brunet. The two boys looked at their master, looking for approval. Mukuro nodded, it would do no harm to know their name. They also had called each other with their name before. "I'm Ken, byon, that's Kakipi." Ken was back to his loud self. "Chikusa," the other introduced himself shortly. After that, they fell into conversation while Mukuro just observed them. Sometime Tsuna or his subordinates would try to include him in the conversation but he would just reply shortly.

After the finished their lunch, they went their separated way, but not without the promise to meet each other soon, or that was what Tsuna promised. "Bye, see you again, soon. I hope we'll meet again soon. Mukuro, I hope we'll talk more." Tsuna wave his hand to bid them goodbye and then went away with his uncle. After they went out from hearing distance, Kawahira talked. "How is he?" Tsuna's expression turned sour. "Still deep in revenge. The other two just follow his wish. They want revenge too, but it's not as strong as him," He explained. "What will you do?" asked the older man. "Waiting." The man accepted the answer and did not ask for more elaboration. After a few seconds of silence, the boy talked again. "The CEDEF is here. We must act carefully. I think if things become worse, we need to rely on your illusion," Tsuna added. Twenty minutes later they reached their hotel.

* * *

Gokudera Hayato was a half-blood and illegitimate son of a Mafia boss. He had lived in big mansion and received high education from the tutor that his father hired. He also played piano beautifully. It was a trait he inherited from his mother. His real mother was his piano tutor and he only knew it a few years after her death. He felt that he was living a lie this whole time. The rumor also made him think that it was his father's scheme that killed his mother. It made him loathed his father and his family. He decided to run away from home and made a living himself. However, living outside his protected mansion was hard. He was forced to mature. Betrayal, deception, fake sympathy, death, and other things that happen in the darker side of the world forced him to. He started to smoke because of his environment. It also helped to ease his stress. He was lucky Shamal threw some rope to him, to show him the way. The doctor taught him how to use dynamites and since then the boy relied heavily on the explosive. That was his mistake and also his skill. He started to make a name for himself as human bomb, 'Hurricane Bomb' or 'Smoking Bomb' Hayato. The mistake was he relied too heavily on the explosive and did not have other skill. He could not do anything if he did not have his beloved dynamites with him.

Gokudera Hayato was looking for acceptance and a new family to serve. Despite his skill, many famiglia rejected him. The reason was his blood. He was half-breed. The mafia had a strong tradition and they did not really accept half-breed or illegitimate son especially Sicilian mafia. His piano skill also made people looked down unto him, thinking it was too girly and he did not really have a real skill in fighting. He had tried to join several families already but he had no luck. Every single family rejected him or just used him then wanted to dispose him. This time he would try his luck in the northern part of Italy. He hoped they did not really hold tradition highly like Sicilian. Deep inside his heart, he already felt the apathy. He knew that most Italian really regarded tradition highly, and thus, he had no place there. Gokudera pushed that thought deeper into the back of his mind. That thought would only hinder him and distract him. He did not need any distraction right now.

The silver haired boy walked into a motel he would stay for the night. Today he would rest. Tomorrow he would try his luck again. He already had an appointment tomorrow's night at some restaurant. Now, he just needed to rest and wait.

* * *

Tsuna said that he would meet the Kokuyo gang soon, but he himself did not expect it to be this soon. He was about to eat dinner with Kawahira and went down to the lobby. There, they met with the Kokuyo gang who were about to eat dinner too. It turned out that they stayed at the same hotel. Lancia then offered to have dinner together. It would be his treat for Kawahira treated them for lunch.

"Kufufu we meet again, Tsunayoshi," greeted the pineapple-haired boy. "Nice to see you again, Mukuro, Ken, Chikusa, and Lancia," Tsuna greeted them with cheerful smile and exaggerated enthusiasm. The others replied his greeting and also greeted Kawahira. Mukuro then gave a sign that he wanted to talk with Tsuna alone. Tsuna got that, so he matched his steps with Mukuro and walked behind the others. Mukuro put illusion around both of them. Tsuna could feel and see it, he was also sure that Kawahira knew it but let them. Tsuna feigned ignorance.

"We can talk safely now, Tsunayoshi," Mukuro started. Tsuna faked a doubtful look. "Kufufu, don't give me that look. I know that you noticed we are shrouded in illusion. You in reflex dispelled the vine that tried to trip you from beside you. Don't think that I don't notice that. Kufufu, now tell me. Who are you really are? How do you get that information?" Tsuna let out a sigh. "I already told you. I am Sawada Tsunayoshi. You are Rokudo Mukuro. I just give you a piece of advices. That's what matters. Everything else doesn't really matter," Tsuna looked straight at Mukuro's heterochromia eyes. "You should heed my advice, Mukuro," Tsuna added. "Kufufu, why should I? I don't even know you. You can be an assassin trying to kill me," Mukuro asked suspiciously. Actually the stare made him feeling something akin to approval and trust. "Because Mukuro, I am sincerely want to help you. I want to be your friends, no I am your friend even you don't even regard me as friend," Mukuro could hear the unspoken 'yet'. The brunet seemed to be sure of himself. "Kufufu, you are really interesting, Sawada Tsunayoshi., really one of a kind," the illusionist said right when they reached the restaurant where they would have dinner. Mukuro would try to solve the mystery of Sawada Tsunayoshi. It seemed that the boy held great power. Perhaps he could use his power. He could put his revenge on hold, the boy looked really interesting. It was not like he heeded the boy's advice, he still wanted revenge. He only put it on hold until he solved the mystery and could use the boy. Tsuna shivered, he knew that the boy behind him was thinking something bad about him, perhaps thinking how to use him. Tsuna shrugged; after all it was typical Mukuro.

The next day, both parties bid goodbye to each other. They exchanged address if they wanted to meet up again. Tsuna gave them his house address even with the knowledge that Mukuro would try to gather more information and he had the intention to use him. Tsuna also gave them his email address. For now, Tsuna was certain that Mukuro would hold back for some times. Just to make sure he would check him later before he went back to Japan. "Feel free to contact me if you need help or just want to talk," said Tsuna as he waved at them. The others nodded and went their way.

After they disappeared from his vision, Tsuna looked at Kawahira. "Now, where's the next place?" asked him to Kawahira. "Why don't we go sightseeing to Lake Garda? We are on vacation, right?" said the other man with faked cheer. Tsuna shot him a deadpanned look. It was winter. Even if it was not snowing yet, it was cold enough. Tsuna had heard about the beauty of Lake Garda's beauty even in winter it's really beautiful. The winter gave different scenery and feeling. But that was not what mattered. They were not really on vacation and Tsuna had more pressing matters and only had little time. Tsuna's expression turned to an 'are-you-serious?' look. "Ah, you're no fun, Tsuna. Just think it about your break from training and perhaps you will meet some interesting person," Kawahira winked at Tsuna then dragged the boy. They left their things in the hotel. They would back at night.

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. Its eastern part is only 15 miles away from Verona. They just needed to take a bus and had 15 to 20 minutes' drive to Peschiera del Garda, the town at the south-end of the lake. It was the second time Tsuna visited Lake Garda. He visited the northern part of it before on some small vacation after he went to Venice. Tsuna went with his friends before, trying to get know Italy's tourist destinations.

Although Tsuna insisted that they were not on vacation, he still took some photos and bought some souvenirs, saying that he would give them to his friends and his mother. He appreciated the beauty of nature, the scenery soothed him. He felt relaxed, some stress lifted from his mind and body. It gave him a sense of peace.

Tsuna strolled down the shore alone. Kawahira was at some coffee shop, did not feel to have a walk. Tsuna scoffed at that. The old man was the one who dragged him to the lake, saying that they would go sightseeing, but here they were and the old man just stayed inside a coffee shop. Just a few seconds later after that thought, a smile crept up to his face. Tsuna knew what Kawahira meant. He thanked the man inwardly.

The breeze caressed Tsuna's hair, making his smile got wider. He skipped to the railing to look at the lake and the scenery around it. He leaned his body on the railing and hummed. It was really beautiful and peaceful. Tsuna was happy about this short moment of peace. He knew life would get harder soon. He should appreciate every peaceful moment that he could get. No, he should enjoy every moment in life, because life was short and he knew how short his life could be. He enjoyed the breeze, the scenery, the sound of rippling water, and his own humming. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, recharging himself. When he opened his eyes, his eyes were full with new strong resolve and determination. He felt like he could do anything he wanted. He was about to straighten his body and continue his way when his eyes caught a figure of another boy a few meters from him. The boy was alone like himself and also looked at the lake, but instead leaning at the railing, he sat on it. His feet were dangling above the water. His hands balanced him. He looked deep in thought. His expression was so serious. There was even a frown on his face. He did not look like that he enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Tsuna approached the boy. "Hey, a penny for your thoughts?" Tsuna greeted the other boy. The boy was startled by the greeting, and in turn making him lost his balance. He almost fell down to the lake, but fortunately Tsuna grabbed his waist, balancing the boy's body back onto the railing. It seemed the boy was really lost in his thoughts to not hear about Tsuna's approach. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Tsuna said to the back of the boy. After making sure that the boy could balance himself again, Tsuna let go the waist and walked to beside him. The boy turned his head to look at Tsuna. Violet eyes met hazel brown.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for your support to me ^o^ I'm really happy that I get good feedback on my first story in KHR fandom. There, there, some characters made up their appearance, although only for a short time. Actually this chapter should be longer than this. But I want to update soon, so I cut it, and decided to put it to the next chapter, and make some failed cliffhanger haahaha. I guess, some of you already knew who the other boy was. By the way, I dropped some small hints of what happened in the past on the last chapter. Anybody can pick it? It's really a little clue hahaha. Okay, bye for now. I hope I can update again very soon, because college will start on Monday and I'll be getting busier.

Another question is, Tsuna's saving Gokudera's life literally seemed to be overused. I'm thinking of some new ideas. But, in the end I think Tsuna will end up saving his life either way, but not from some freaky accident or because the dynamite. What do you think about this matter?

Okay, see ya! Don't forget to leave some reviews :) Thank you, Grazie, Arigatou, Merci, Komawo ^o^


	8. White and Silver

Byakuran Gesso was an heir to Gesso family, a relatively small mafia family. He was raised to be the perfect boss and spoiled as a child. He got everything he wanted. He received education from the best teacher, got the newest games and game consoles, got his wishes granted, lived in a big mansion, and had many butlers and maids that were ready to cater to his needs. He was used to have many subordinates since he was a little kid. He got personal bodyguard to guard him. He lived in luxury that would make many people envy.

He was always seen with smile on his face. At first glance, people would say that he was a cheerful and playful boy. Oh, if only they knew what behind those smiles and playful characters. There were resentments to his parents who only treated him as the heir to be raised, the trophy to be shown off, and a doll to be used. They did not treat him as a son. He had great sky flames which was rare, thus made his parents had great expectation on him. Behind those smiles there was also cruelty that was still growing. Being exposed to the darker side of the world since a young kid made him developed some warped personalities. He was still a teen right now so those warped personalities still had a chance to become more dangerous. He could become a mad man or some psycho that want to rule the world.

The boy just turned thirteen on last October. He got a new tattoo on his face for the world to see. It was placed under his left eye, in a shape of three upside-down purple triangles with different lengths. The lines of the triangles were rather curvy to the tips. The color accentuated his eyes. Purple represented nobility, luxury, power, ambition, and pride. The color also could calm mind and nerves. It helped someone align to the whole universe. Just like the color of purple, the triangles and the trinity held many meanings. It meant balance and unity. It represented creator, destroyer, and sustainer, creation, preservation, and destruction, spirit, mind, and body, and many other things. The upside-down triangle also represented femininity. However, those things were not the reason why Byakuran had that tattoo. The reason was simpler. It was because he was a Gesso, the heir to be exact. It marked him as a Gesso. Just like how Giglio Nero had flower mark, Gesso also had their own symbol. It showed how the boy was officially named as the heir and soon could inherit the family business. Although, perhaps some of those reasons really applied to Byakuran, still, he was the only one to know whether they really had some connection or not.

Byakuran felt choked by all the expectation he was supposed to fulfill. He could not live as a normal teenager. He did not have many friends. Every single friend that he had turned out to be a traitor or someone that wanted to use him. He had experienced betrayal firsthand. Deception and lies were his everyday things. Nothing about the underground could faze him anymore. He had already built up a wall on his heart.

Despite all the luxury he had and the smile he always showed, Byakuran was not happy. Since a kid his parents always told him that 'money can't buy you happiness, but money can buy things that make you happy.' His father also instilled to him that power was what mattered, in this world only the stronger would survive and the weak would only live in shadows. He always believed in what his parents taught him, but now he came to a point where he started questioning things. Yes, his father was right. But, the happiness he felt seemed fakes and did not last long. Nowadays, he only felt empty.

Byakuran was sitting on the railing at Lake Garda's shore, contemplating about those thoughts. He was in Peschiera del Garda, a town at the south-end of Lake Garda. He was not there on vacation. It just another business trip his father had where he had to tag along to be shown off to other families. They would stay there for two days. It seemed that there were some serious matters that needed to be discussed. Byakuran did not need to join the meeting for he was still too young and it would hurt those stuck-up men's ego if a brat like him was to join them. All he did just smiled, be introduced to some new people he did not bother to remember the name and face, then he was dismissed and supposed to wait for his father with his bodyguard. He could go anywhere in Peschiera as long as his bodyguards was with him. This time, Byakuran ditched his bodyguards, he could not think with their presence always hovering over him.

Byakuran did not really take notice of his surroundings or beautiful scenery in front of him. He was lost in his thoughts. The calm surrounding, the sound of water, and the breeze let him to get lost in his thoughts. His trained self even did not notice another boy came up from behind him until that boy spoke.

"Hey, a penny for your thoughts?" The sudden new voice from behind him startled him, making him lost his balance. He almost fell to the cold water, but luckily the newcomer held his waist while saying "I'm sorry I didn't really mean to startle you." Byakuran fixed his position and balanced himself again quickly, then looked at the other boy. His eyes met wide brown eyes full of concern and compassion. It froze him for a few seconds before he finally could compose himself. He immediately put his signature smile on his face.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, it's not my intention. I just wanted to greet you but I should know better than to greet someone who lose in their thoughts so suddenly like that, especially one who is at the side of a lake," the brunet rambled, his eyes showed his relief, apology, and concern. He seemed really sincere. Byakuran only stared at the other boy. The boy then seemed to remember something. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna," the boy greeted cheerfully with wide smile on his face. It was obvious that the boy was Japanese but with great Italian, such a rarity.

"Hello, I'm Byakuran Gesso," He introduced himself with his big smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, Byakuran," the brunet replied still with his wide smile. The white haired boy just gave a nod in reply. He was a little bit annoyed that this boy disturbed his time of thinking. What was this boy looking for? Byakuran was suspicious and wary. He had to. Even a young boy could not be trusted. However, somehow Byakuran felt something different with this brunet. There was something that attracted him, something familiar.

Tsuna turned back to the lake. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Giving you a sense of peace, even if only for a moment." Byakuran also looked at the scenery. Yes, it was beautiful, but he felt nothing. He could not really appreciate the beauty, it could not calm his mind, but still he gave a sound of agreemen. "Hn. Yes it is. Are you a tourist, or do you live here, Tsunayoshi-kun?" The white haired boy added –kun, showing his knowledge of Japanese culture.

"I'm just a tourist. I come with my uncle. He's in a coffee shop, and I decided to look at the beautiful scenery. How about you? Do you live here?" Byakuran shook his head. "No, a trip with my family. I live in Sicily. Your Italian is great. It's rare for a Japanese boy to learn Italian. Is one of your parents Italian?" asked Byakuran curiously. Even though he was wary, he could still appreciate great mind and smart people. "Hu-uh. I think, I do have Italian blood, even it is very tiny. It's also great to have another language on your arsenal, don't you think so?" Tsuna answered, and looked at the older boy. Byakuran gave a sound of approval, but did not say any words. They fell into silence and looked at the lake again.

Tsuna leaned against the railing, thinking how to crumble those walls that Byakuran had built around himself. Byakuran looked up at the sky. It was really blue. There were several white clouds floating around. Byakuran lost in his thoughts again. This time, he was thinking about new games he should play to alleviate his boredom and to distract his thoughts. But playing with those traitors was getting too mundane and it started to bore him. They were easy to fool and fall to his trap. They did not give challenge. Hmm, he really should look for new play things.

"The sky is blue and so does the sea. They are really similar, don't you think so?" The voice of the brunet woke Byakuran from his thoughts. "Huh?" Byakuran was really distracted with his own mind so he needed more times to process the words. "It's a lake, Tsunayoshi-kun, not sea," said Byakuran. "I know." Tsuna said with a knowing look. Byakuran felt there were something more behind those words the boy said before. Byakuran tilted his head, asking for more elaboration, but the boy just had a faraway look on his face. Hmm, this boy was really weird.

"Hey, Byakuran," the boy suddenly called. "Hm?" Byakuran gave a sign that he was listening. "Why did you make such a face in front of this beautiful scenery? You looked sad, confused, frustrated, and mad. No, even now, I can still feel that you're in turmoil. What can I do to help you?" The boy inquired sincerely. Byakuran narrowed his eyes at the brunet. "What do you know?" hissed Byakuran, slipped out from his mask. Tsuna shrugged. "Many and yet nothing. How about you tell me?"

"Why should I? I just know you, like for ten minutes. We're practically stranger to each other." Tsuna shrugged again. "Why not?" The brunet looked back at the lake. "Because it's a fellow sky's job to be each other pillars," he muttered under his breath. Byakuran could hear that the boy muttered something, but he could not make out the words. He was getting tired of the brunet cryptic messages and weird behavior. He stared and observed the other boy. The boy looked in pre-teen, perhaps still in elementary. He was short, had slim and small figure. Though, he was young, his eyes told different story. It told that the owner of the hazel brown eyes had knowledge that kids his age did not have. It also told that he had seen and experienced the world. Byakuran came into a realization. Did this boy come from the same world as him?

Byakuran wanted to voice his speculation. When he was about to speak, his eyes caught something glinted in front of the boy's chest. It was a pendant in a shape of a rainbow colored wing hang on a clock and cloaked in some chains, covering most part of the pendants. It was normal necklace, but Byakuran felt a sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had seen that before. He felt something pulled him from that pendant, calling him. He could feel his flames flared up after seeing that pendant. Something was asking him to touch that pendant, to do something with that pendant.

"Where did you get that?" Byakuran's mouth already moved without he realized. It was not a question he wanted to ask before. "Huh? What?" Tsuna asked, not knowing what the other boy asked about. "That necklace." Byakuran pointed. There was a flash of shock and fear of something on the brunet's face when he realized what the white haired boy pointed at, but the brunet covered it fast. "Oh, this. It's from my friends," Tsuna said with a fond smile which contradicted his previous expressions. It made the Gesso boy more curious. "Can I touch it?" The words slipped again from his mouth. He did not even know where the words and feeling came from.

The brunet hesitated. He did not know what the pendant would do. Would it give some effect to the other boy? But it already wrapped by mammon chains. If he refused, the other would get more suspicious. So he let the other touched the pendant.

When he touched the pendant, Byakuran felt something seeped into him, like a part of him came back after a long journey. His flames thrummed, like it welcomed its brother back. He felt power and strength from the pendant. He also felt that something blocked those powers. Byakuran thought he could get more powers by having that pendant. Perhaps he could trick the boy to give the pendant to him.

Tsuna could see Byakuran lost in thoughts and thinking something dangerous. So, he pulled the pendant from his hand. "Sorry, Byakuran. But I think I should go back, my uncle must be looking for me. Perhaps we can talk later," Tsuna said. "That's okay Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said his smile was back on his face. The pendant already made he forgot his suspicions of Tsuna. He could find the boy easily. "Where do you stay? Perhaps I can visit you." Or perhaps he could just ask the boy's location.

"I stay at Hotel Trieste in Verona until tomorrow morning. Feel free to visit. Arrivederci." The brunet said his goodbye to the white haired. "Arrivederci," Byakuran replied. A few moments after the brunet turned his back, his smile turned to a smirk. His eyes gleamed with something malicious. A plan and new goal already on his mind: get that pendant. 

* * *

Tsuna found Kawahira at the place he left him before. The old man was seeping to his drink calmly. "Oh, back already, Tsuna? Did you meet someone interesting?" Tsuna rolled his eyes. He knew that the man knew of his meeting. It had to be on the other plan before. He had felt the Gesso's presence in this city beforehand. "Yup, shall we go back, uncle?" The brunet thought that he had seen enough of the lake and there was nothing else to do here. "Hu-um. Let me finish my drink," the man took another sip from his coffee. 

* * *

It was almost night. The time of the meeting would come soon. Gokudera was ready. He already got out from his motel and walked to the meeting point. He had gathered information about the families in the city of Verona and their city beforehand. He had back-up plan if they rejected him. Gokudera would not lose to those adults. He was stronger than what they thought about him. He could fit in into this world. He would prove it to them. He could not wait to prove it to them.

Gokudera walked for twenty minutes. He took the long way to kill the time. Seven o'clock sharp, he went into the restaurant where the meeting was held. Gokudera walked to a table where several men in black suits were already waiting. He knew the Don was not between them. They did not think his worth the boss' presence. Gokudera scoffed at that thought inwardly. Outside, his face was stoic.

The meeting went fast. They offered the boy dinner which he refused. They gave him a mission which he had to do tonight, after the meeting ended. He had to steal some information from rival family which was holding some small party in the city. They said it was not something that really classified. The mission was just to prove his competence. The silver haired boy accepted a map with the detail of the mission and went out the restaurant. He could not stand their disgusting stare. They doubted and underestimated him. Their eyes mocked him, saying 'what a brat like you can do?' Yes, he was an eleven years old boy, but he was not a civilian dammit. He was born Mafioso. He was not some defenseless, whiny, useless boy. He would prove it to those adults. Those older people always underestimated someone younger than them. Oh, how he hated adults and everyone that was older than him. 

* * *

Tsuna and Kawahira did not immediately go back to their hotel in Verona. They went sightseeing around Lake Garda. There were vineyards, hills, beautiful churches, and castles around there. Ancient villages and green landscapes gave them tranquility and helped them relax. They just enjoyed their time. They went back to Verona at 3.45 p.m.

After reaching Verona, Kawahira and Tsuna decided to do more sightseeing. Verona offers a lot of things to see. There are many historical buildings and museums. Its walls, castles, fortresses, and landscapes narrate a history of wars and economic splendor. They visited the Shakespeare museum, Piazza delle Erbe (the old Roman centre and now Market Square)—where Tsuna bought more souvenirs—Piazza dei Signori (the political centre in middle age Verona), and Piazza Bra with the Arena, the Roman amphitheater. They also did wine-tasting, in which Kawahira tried to give Tsuna wine discreetly. He would get into problems if people noticed him giving some wine to underage boy.

The sky started to get dark. They still had some places to see. They continued their sightseeing after dinner. The last place they would visit was Juliet's house. They already visited Juliet's tomb and Romeo's house before. After all, Verona was famous for its Romeo &amp; Juliet's legend. They stopped in front of the Juliet's statue. There were only a few people there beside them. It was already past ten. Most tourists already decided to go back to their hotel and would continue their trip the next day.

"Why don't you rub her breast too, Tsuna?" Kawahira said as he pointed his chin to the statue of Juliet's where there were two women in the middle of rubbing their hands to Juliet's breast. "Perhaps it will really give you good luck, or at least lessening your bad luck," said Kawahira teasingly. Tsuna rolled his eyes. Oh, if only this would really keep him away from trouble. He was reluctant to do that, but still he waited for the two women to go and then walked to the statue. He tried to reach for the breast, unfortunately, he was too short. Okay, he forgot that he was still in a kid's body. Tsuna stood on his tip-toe and reached out again. Still, he could not reach. He felt annoyed, oh how he hate his small and short stature. He heard Kawahira chuckled from behind him. "Need help?" Kawahira offered his help. Tsuna huffed and turned away. A blush came up to his face. He surveyed his surroundings. Good, it was clear, other people already went away and it was only them there. Tsuna then nodded shyly.

Two arms went to Tsuna's small waist. The arms lifted him up. Tsuna stretched his right arms to touch the breast, this time it touched. He wished that it would really bring him good luck, and that it would worth the embarrassment he felt. Just as he finished his thought and the touch, he heard some explosions and gunshot near.

"Uh-oh. More problems." He grumbled and then added in his mind. 'Perhaps it does not really work.' 

* * *

Gokudera had finished his mission or so he thought. It turned out that he was only a red herring. He found someone else who did the same mission after he got the information needed and was about to get out. The other man was supposed to get further information while Gokudera tried to escape. He brought attention to Gokudera which forced him to run. Few bullets grazed him, but he could get out from the building. However, outside, the family that gave him the mission already waited for him, not to receive the information, but to tie the loose end, which meant to silence him. It was not the first time this kind of things happened, in fact, it always happened. The reason once again was because of his blood, his tainted blood, the half-blood.

Gokudera threw his dynamites to the group of men in front of him and also the one behind him. He was sure it would take some of them, but he also knew that he was over numbered. Gokudera was smart, so he knew that he could not defeat all of them, the best act would be to run away, so that what he did. The smoke from the explosions helped him a bit in hiding and running away. Unfortunately, he could not outrun bullets. Yes he could dodge, but not all. Two bullets already hit him, one on his left ribs and one on his shoulders. Nothing vitals, but it still hurt and he was still an eleven years old boy, dammit. He threw some more dynamites to the men who chased him. He ran through the alley, tried to shake off his chasers.

All the running and blood lost made him dizzy. His stamina was not good enough to keep up with all the running and the blood lost. Still, he forced himself to run. His view was getting blurred. Oh shit, he started to lose consciousness. Uh-oh he could not faint right now, he would be dead.

Gokudera turned left to another alley and straightly bumped into another kid. The speed of his run made him and the other kid fell down. Unfortunately, on his fall, Gokudera hit his head on the hard concrete. The last things he saw before black were spiky brown hair that defies gravity. 

* * *

Tsuna was confused whether to curse his luck or thank it. In the end, he decided to thank it for now. He found another friend of him which bumped him and now was unconscious on the ground. There were bloods pooled below his body. They did not bump that hard, did they? Tsuna took a closer look and saw bullet wounds. He could also hear heavy footsteps approaching their location. Tsuna turned to Kawahira and gave him a look which was replied with a nod.

"It's safe. Let's go to the hotel," Kawahira said as he picked up the bleeding boy. They immediately left, leaving the confused mob behind who thought the boy disappeared into thin air and only leaving a blood pool in the middle of alley. 

* * *

A white haired man was walking into a meeting room with a wide smile. Inside the room, his friends were already waiting for him. Just after he walked in, his smile fell. He could feel the heavy tension and gloomy atmosphere in the room. It seemed the situation was really serious. He swept his gaze around the room. Some people in the room had scowls and frown, but some also had smiles, even though they were not bright and happy smile, but reassuring and sad smiles especially the one which came from a brunet man. Brown eyes met him. He knew right that time, there was another death. But there was also a stronger determination. The brunet had plan, and the rest of the room would not really like it.

The scene changed. Now, the same white haired man was inside an office room and in front of him were the same brunet man and another woman with mushroom hat and flower tattoo under her eyes. The brunet man was hugging the woman who was sobbing into his chest. His eyes were brimmed with tears but he held it for the sake of the woman. The white haired man walked to the brunet and hugged both of them, making the woman sandwiched between two men. They took comfort in each other arms.

More scenes appeared. More battles, more deaths, more tears, more struggles, more laughs, more loves, and more smiles appeared. More feelings and emotions were felt and shown.

The scene changed again. This time, the white was tainted with red. The white haired man was in the brunet arms. He was bleeding and so was the brunet, but he could his life was slipping away. The brunet that held his body was screaming and crying for his name. Guilt seeped off from his body. The dying man forced himself to give a last of his signature smile and told the other to not waste his death, to live and protect the others, and to not blame himself for his death. He also asked for one last smile from the brunet, which the brunet complied with hard effort. After that smile, the white haired man stopped breathing, still with his signature smile on his face.

At the same time, a young boy woke up and sat up from his bed. He was panting and sweating. His eyes were unfocused and unseeing, like he was not present at the time. After a few moments, his heavy breathing calmed down and his eyes started to get more focus. It seemed he came up to a realization. New resolve came up to the boy. His eyes gleamed with new determination. The boy stood up, changed his clothes, walked to the big window that connected the room with a balcony, opened it, then he jumped.

He did not fell into his death, but instead a pair of white wings spread from his back, taking him higher into the dark sky. The boy had a destination in mind and a certain person to meet. 

* * *

Tsuna had already tended to the silver haired boy's wounds with the help of Kawahira and some sun's flames. The more-than-several-hundred-years old man, had enough medical knowledge to save the young boy. Now, they could only wait for the boy to wake up in the morning. Both Tsuna and Kawahira went to sleep.

Few hours later, Tsuna woke up because he needed to pee. After he went to the bathroom, he checked the silver haired boy's condition. Feeling relieved, that the boy was sleeping soundly. Tsuna fixed the blanket with fond smile on his face. Then, he walked to the other side of the bed, trying to get to his previous position. However, the keyword here was 'trying', for he could not do that as the bell rang. Tsuna thought it just his imagination, but a few seconds later the bell rang again. Now, he hoped that it was only some kid doing some pranks and would go away, but once again the bell rang. Tsuna groaned. He just wanted a couple more hours of sleep after a long and tiring day. Who the heck even came here at the middle of the night at—Tsuna looked at the clock in the room—at freaking 3 A.M. in the morning? Tsuna glanced at two people beside him. Gokudera still fast asleep and Kawahira seemed to, but Tsuna somehow knew that the older man just pretended to sleep because he was too lazy to open the door. Tsuna groaned again and grumbled some more before he walked to the door and opened it.

What Tsuna saw behind the door really was not in his expectation. Okay, he did expect a certain white haired boy to visit him, but not at freakin 3 A.M. Yup, one Byakuran Gesso stood behind the door with his signature smile and closed eyes because his wide smile. He found the brunet's room after asking nicely—threatened—the front office, using his deep connection, not that he needed that, his creepy smile and sharp eyes could do it easily enough. After the boy realized that the door was already opened, the boy opened his eyes and spoke.

"What did you do, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" The smile turned into something that promised pain if the other gave wrong answer. Tsuna did not know what the boy was talking about. The question was so sudden and in his sleepy state Tsuna did not know what to answer. Therefore, he just stayed silent.

"I asked you, Sawada Tsunayoshi or should I say, Vongola Decimo?" Byakuran said again. The used of the title made Tsunayoshi immediately awake and looked at the white haired boy's eyes, searching for something. He did find what he looked for. There, in the violet eyes, Tsuna could find recognition, anger, relief, curiosity, and many more emotions that the boy from the morning did not have. Tsuna understood the situation and asked him to come in to his room.

"Why don't you come in first? We can talk inside and please refrain to come at this hour next time. I need my sleep," Tsuna let out a sigh as he ushered the older boy inside. 

* * *

Gokudera woke up because the morning sun disturbed his sleep. It had been a long time since he felt a comfortable and soft bed, pillow, and blanket. He wanted to sleep some more, but the sun decided to disrupt his sleep. He cracked his eyes open slowly. He started to turn his body to shy away from the sun light to continue his sleep, but as he moved his body, he realized something. He could not afford this luxury. There was also a slight pain on his body. He started remembering what happened yesterday. His eyes widened and he almost bolted up before he controlled himself to analyze the situation first. He did not want to make his enemies realized that he awoke. He pretended to sleep and listening to the voice around him. He needed to get a better picture of his situation.

His wounds were not really hurt anymore, which was weird because he just got freaking shot by bullets. There should be more pain unless someone gave him anesthetic, but it did not seem so. He was not tied to the bed nor had any shackles to restrict his movement. There were several people in the room. They seemed engaged in heated conversation. Two seemed like boys' voice and one a man. Their conversation did not make sense to Gokudera or even lighted any bulb in his head. It was not like a conversation held by the usual kidnapper or rival family. Moreover, it was in Japanese.

"It's the last resort!" said one of the boys with desperation. "But at what cost?" the other asked angrily. There was silence after that question. "You, old man. You must know about it. Tell me about it," continued the boy who asked the question. Before the man could reply, the other boy piped in. "Stop talking about this. We already talked about this for hours, Byakuran. I can't and won't tell you. Perhaps later, but not now." The tone said that he did not want to talk more. "Not when it concerns your life." There was another silence. The other boy did not reply and talk anymore. It made Gokudera uneasy. He wanted to know what happened.

The silence finally was broken by an older man's voice. "It seems the boy awake." Even though his eyes were closed, Gokudera could feel three pairs of eyes stared at him. He decided to end his act of sleeping and slowly opened his eyes. There, in front of him, he saw a brunet boy, a white haired boy, and a white haired man. All of them gave him smiles, but with different feelings. The brunet threw a warm one, the white haired boy gave a creepy smile, and the man gave a smile that saying 'Welcome to the Jungle or Club or whatever' which made Gokudera got more uneasy.

"Are you feeling better?" the brunet asked. The silver haired boy put on his scowl. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" He grunted, already feeling suspicious and ready to attacked, but he realized he got no dynamites in his arsenal. He cursed mentally. The brunet just smiled.

"Ah, I'm sorry. We haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can call me Tsuna," the brunet said, his smile got wider. Then the brunet looked at the white haired boy to prompt him to introduce himself. "I'm Byakuran Gesso. Nice to meet you Puppy-chan," the white haired boy with weird tattoo on his face, introduced himself and somehow insulted Gokudera which made him bristled. "What did you say creepy clown bastard?" Gokudera shouted. "Did you not hear it the first time, Puppy-chan? I said my name is Byakuran Gesso and nice to meet you, Puppy-chan." Gokudera was getting angrier. Who was this freak to have a right to suddenly call him a puppy? Gokudera spluttered curses to the boy while Byakuran just smiled and Tsuna sweatdropped. The curses and one-sided taunts were broken by a fake cough from the oldest man in the room.

"By the way, I'm Kawahira. You also haven't said your name, young boy. So what's yours?" Kawahira said. "None of your business," grunted Gokudera. "Ckckck.. is that a way to talk to your elders?" chided the adult. It only raised the boy's anger more. "Che. Everyone that older than me is my enemies." The brunet chuckled at that while the creepy clown commented with his shitty grin, "Wao, that's a lot."

"Where am I? What do you want from me?" Gokudera decided to ask what had been plaguing his mind. Tsuna was the one who answered him. "We are in Hotel Trieste in Verona. What we want from you, huh?" The brunet asked back then looked at two of his companion, asking for their answers which both of them only answered with a shrug. Tsuna thought for a moment then he also shrugged. "Nothing for certain, I guess." The silver haired boy did believe the answer and glared at the brunet, trying to decipher the real answer if there was any. "Okay, perhaps I want something," the brunet added as an afterthought. The glared got more intense. He was right, Gokudera was right. There were hidden intentions from these people. "I want you to take care of yourself more and be more cautious. Don't do things recklessly."

"Huh?" The glare lessened a bit. Confusion overcame the anger but it quickly changed back to anger again. "What are you talking about?!" Gokudera half-yelled to the brunet who only stared at him with serious expression while the other two just watched the exchange silently. "Life is precious. Yours too. Why you try so hard to survive just to throw your life away the next chance you have? What's your reason to stay alive?" "You- W-what- S-s- I—Shut Up!" shouted Gokudera. He did not know what to reply. The brunet tone was full with seriousness that eleven years old should not have. There was also sincere concern to what, Gokudera did not know, but it seemed to Gokudera's live, but it was not possible, wasn't it? Gokudera did not know about this boy. He could not be concerned about a stranger's live, could he?

Tsuna's serious expression melted down and changed into his warm expression. He threw another smile to the silver haired boy. "Okay, then if you want that. Now, now why don't you take a shower and change your bandage?" Tsuna dragged the silver haired boy who was still speechless to the bathroom's door, pushed him inside, gave him a set of clothes, then closed the door, leaving Gokudera with a thought 'What was that?'

After Gokudera finished, the other started taking turn in showering. Gokudera still felt wary about them, but it seemed they would not hurt him for now, so he would not attack them. He still had his own honor and code of conduct. It also seemed that they confiscated his dynamites, saying that they would give them back after he was getting better in which he thought that was nonsense because he was already feeling better. He cursed them and threw a tantrum, but they ignored him and just smiled. Then, the weird brunet and the creepy clown bastard (Gokudera's words) dragged him around the town without his consent. Gokudera wanted to run away but the brunet's grip was so strong. There was also that creepy grin that promised pain if he tried to disappoint the brunet.

The two kids and even sometime Kawahira always tried to include him in a conversation. Strangely, they seemed to know what topics picked his interests, especially the brunet. When the brunet started to a topic about UMA or aliens or mythical things, the silver haired boy would start rambling without him realizing. His eyes then would start sparkling with excitement and childish innocent. Tsuna then would only listen-even only half-through them-and smile fondly. He was glad that his friend still had his childish innocent side despite many betrayals he had experienced. Tsuna could even see Gokudera's smile several times when he talked excitedly. Tsuna knew which button to push, not to make Gokudera's angry but to make him smile. He was happy and a little bit relieved that he still knew something about his friends. Tsuna was not in any delusion nor was he trying to fool himself in believing that the past had not changed, or his friends would be the same. His existence on this timeline already changed something, if not everything. Just like parallel worlds that happened because every choice someone chose, Tsuna's existence already created ripple in the time. That was why he was glad that his friends still had several similar characteristics with his past friends. It gave him a sense of familiarity, a sense of belonging, a sense of home.

Gokudera did not know what he was feeling right now. He felt weird. He never felt something like this. He could talk for hours and his companion did not seem to mind him. It felt good to be listened. He could talk about the history of some historical buildings, the architecture, and even about his fascination in UMA. Those stares he felt from his new acquaintances did not judge him, instead he felt like they accepted him. He could feel bubbly feeling from inside. It stretched his mouth to shape a smile. He could enjoy himself for a moment. He did not realize that the night almost came. All good things must come to end, this time his fun had to be ended by the time.

It was around 4 P.M. when Tsuna took nervous glances to both Gokudera and Byakuran. He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry, but Uncle and I must go to our next destination. We already overstayed our visit in Verona. There are many places to see, and we can't really ruin our itinerary." Byakuran narrowed his eyes and his smile froze while Gokudera scowled and muttered 'Like I care. Just go.' Byakuran tried to look at Tsuna's eyes to decipher his next plan. "And where is your next destination, Tsunayoshi-kun?" he asked with fake cheer.

Tsuna hesitated to answer. "Um.. it's.." He looked at Kawahira with a 'please-help-me' look. "Fufufu why are you asking? Are you perhaps trying to follow us?" Kawahira asked which actually hit the point. Instead of covering his intention, he blatantly showed it. "Why not? I want to be with Tsunayoshi. It's more fun" he grinned. Tsuna saw the real reason. Byakuran wanted to keep watch on him. He wanted to know Tsuna's plan and the answer to their previous conversation at the morning. "Then take a guess," replied Kawahira michivieously. Byakuran started to think, but without waiting for his answer, Kawahira continued. "But, we'll not wait for your answer. We are tight on schedule, so Arrivederci." Kawahira started walking away and motioned Tsuna to follow him. Tsuna stared at him and sweatdropped. Stupid, irresponsible old man! Tsuna stayed still for a proper goodbye.

"Ah, thank you for today. See you later, guys," He said with big smile on his face, then turned around to follow his uncle. However, after only two steps he turned back again and faced Gokudera. "Stop chaining yourself to the past and other people's view. You are your own unique person. Unbind your personal chain by accepting yourself. Believe in yourself and other people. But don't let others crush your flames of life. Those, who only see the surfaces and do not bother to go deeper, are not worth your time. I, myself, will be happy to be your friend. I won't judge you for I have no right. I hope we can be friend, but I won't insist. And please look for the answer of the question I ask you this morning. I hope when we meet again, you already have the answers. Bye," Tsuna nodded to himself, seemed to be satisfied with his words then he ran to catch up with his uncle.

Gokudera was once again caught off guard by the seemingly weak brunet's words. He was frozen in place, thinking about those words which really hit close, no, straight at home. It seemed like the boy's knew him and his past or was he just easy to read. Whatever the tricks of that boy, those words seemed to cast loose some knots in his heart and lift some his burden. He felt warmth and acceptance. The storm had calmed down. It could be controlled now. Gokudera felt that he could see himself in a new light now. Perhaps he should follow the advice of that weird brunet.

Gokudera's thoughts were disturbed by a certain white haired boy who existence almost be forgotten. "Puppy-chan, you seemed so serious." That nickname again. It ticked Gokudera. "Shut up! My name is not Puppy-chan! How many times should I tell you that, creepy clown bastard!" He shouted at Byakuran and reached for his dynamites then he remembered that his dynamites were still with Kawahira. He let out a stream of curses to the old man.

"But you never really told us, your name, Puppy-chan," Byakuran pouted and faked a hurt expression. "So, I just call you Puppy-chan." He already backed to his cheerful self again. "It's Gokudera Hayato, not Puppy-chan. Remember that!" Gokudera glared at the older boy. "Okay, Puppy-chan," Byakuran mock saluted and Gokudera just groaned. Stupid annoying freaking creepy weird clown bastard! Oh, how he really needed his beloved dynamites.

"Ah, unfortunately Tsunayoshi hasn't got your name yet. He must be sad. After he and Kawahira were taking care of your wounds, they didn't even get your name. I feel sad for them. Puppy-chan hasn't show any gratitude yet to them, I thought Puppy always show gratitude." Byakuran stroke a thinking pose, his forefinger touched his lips while he looked up. Gokudera's eyes widened. He did not even catch the subtle insult for he was focused to more important realization. He just remembered and somehow just realized that they had saved him. He did not even feel any pain, now it was only dull ache since the morning. Perhaps that was why he almost forgot about yesterday's incident. In the morning, his rage and wariness which also added by the brunet's words made him forget about his condition. Now, it was really downed on him, that they were his saviors, moreover Sawada Tsunayoshi. That boy had saved him physically from wounds and death, but he also had saved him mentally from himself. And what did he do? This ungrateful boy just shouted, yelled, cursed, and thought bad things about him. The silver haired boy suddenly fell on his knees in despair. He then shouted for the world to hear, "Tsuna-sama. Forgive me!" Cue some bangs of head to the hard concrete. It seemed finally Tsuna got his puppy back. Really, some things really never changed.

Byakuran just laughed amusedly which in turn making the silver haired boy glared sharply at him. "You, creepy bastard! You seem to have more information on Tsuna-sama! Tell me where I can find him. Where is his house? I'll follow and protect him, especially in dangerous country like Italy. Hurry, tell me!" Byakuran just stared at the younger boy in amusement. Hohoho, thinks just got more interesting. Tsunayoshi really made this world more fun. However, Byakuran also had something to do. He could not let the brunet act recklessly. He had to take his own action.

"Ne, Puppy-chan? Do you want to help Tsunayoshi-kun? Then why don't you get stronger first? If you're stronger I'll tell you his address and more information on him," said Byakuran with a smirk. 

* * *

**A/N: **Here's an update! Happy Lunar New Year for everyone ^o^ May this year be a year of prosperity!

I don't know how this chapter come out. I suddenly lost inspiration in the middle of writing this especially after I got back to the town where my University is. College already starting. Huft! I'll get busier and perhaps can't update often. Forgive me in advance hehehe.

I also felt that I can't really capture Gokudera T.T and his scenes seemed rushed. Blame that on sudden lost of inspiration hahaha

I want to reply some guest's review here, those with accounts I'll try to PM you :)

For **KK**: Yeah, that's what I'm feeling too. Meeting friends really fun, especially old close friends ^_^ But what I mean by work here is that Tsuna had self-appointment mission that he must finished, some of which he cannot fail. That's why he can't really relax and have a 'real' break or vacation.

**SANIA0306**: Thank you very much. I'm glad that you love it. I always try to write each chapter more than 2000 words if I can. Do you have any suggestion how many words shall I write for each chapter? please feel free to give suggestion :)


	9. The Cursed One

In the dark of night, a man and a boy were walking or to be precise hiking deeper into the woods in Ficuzza. The cold air bit their skin, but it did not really bother them. Their destination was already near and they knew it. They walked for a few more minutes before they arrived into a clearing. There was a hut or small house in the middle of it.

"Is this the place?" asked the brunet. The man gave a sound of confirmation. They walked to the front door and the boy knocked the door. A few minutes later, the door was opened by an old man who had red hair in Mohawk and had a piece of cloth covering his eyes.

"Well, well, what made you go to my humble home at this time of the day? What can I help you in this beautiful night?" asked the old man. The brunet did not immediately answer with words but instead he pulled out his necklace and showed it to the man which made the man cringed a bit. He felt familiar with the necklace, like he should have known it.

"What an interesting necklace you have, boy." The old man then averted his gaze to the man behind the boy. He recognized who the man was because of his attire. The man wore a half-mask, checkered hat, and checkered gloves. The red haired man immediately knew that there was something serious that would be discussed this night. "Long time no see, Checker Face," then he opened the door wider and made way for the pair to come in.

Checker Face gave a nod then walked in, the brunet boy followed behind him. They sat on wooden chairs in the kitchen. While the host was preparing tea, the guest especially the boy surveyed the surrounding. The old man's house was simple yet gave a homey feeling. There was a fireplace in the living room which warmed the small house. Even though they were in the kitchen they could still feel the heat. Unique and antique wall decorations hang on the wall. There were also some vials and stones scattered around the house. Things from several centuries ago filled out the cabinet. The boy could not identify many of the things inside the house. But one thing for sure, the boy felt that the house gave the same feeling as Kawahira's, creepy yet to some extent homey and cozy.

A sound of clangs of glasses stopped the boy's observation. He turned back to the table and saw three cups of tea already on the table. The oldest man only in physical sense took the seat, took a sip of his tea, put it back, then started the conversation. "So, what brings you here?" The boy once again took out his necklace but this time he took it off, put it on the table and pushed it to the old man as he said, "I am Sawada Tsunayoshi and it seems you already know who my companion is. We are here because of this." The old man thought that the name was familiar especially the family name. "From your look before, I assume that you can feel something from the pendant. I think you can figure it out yourself, Talbot-jiisan,"added the boy. The old man was a little bit taken aback by the way the boy called him which was in a familiar way. However, he could only felt warmth and familiarity with the addition of his name.

The old man who now had been recognized as Talbot, took the necklace to observe it closer. Now he could see the details of the pendant which was a wing with seven feathers, each had a color of the rainbow. The wing hung on a clock and wrapped in chains. He knew what the chains could do. He knew the purpose of the chains but he was not sure of the reason. Talbot felt the pendant with his rough hand, feeling the contour and the details. He could feel the pendant thrummed with power beneath his fingers. He then took it closer to his eyes, looking for details and answers. After a few minutes he finally was sure of one thing. The pendant was one of his creations or at least he contributed in the making of it. It was not his only hand work but there were touches of other hands. It was like a mix of modern technology and old magic. He did not do modern technology, he did old magic. Thus, he was sure the pendant was a creation of several inventors. On the other hand, he was also sure that he had not make it or at least not yet. A new thought came into his mind. He then looked up to the brunet.

"Where did you get this, young man?" asked Talbot, looking at brown eyes. "Just some old friends," answered the boy. "Hmm," hummed the old man. "You are not supposed to be here, are you," he stated rather than questioned. The boy knew that the man did not talk about his visit to the man's house. "Yes I am, but I need to, no I have to," answered the brunet. His eyes full of resolve.

Talbot tilted his head as if trying to listen to something. In fact, he indeed was listening to something. He heard muffled whispers. He could not hear clearly because something blocked the voices. He unwrap the chains that covered the pendant. He was not afraid that he would undo the barrier of the great power in the pendant for he was sure that his house, his presence, and the Tri-ni-set administrator's presence will keep the power undetected from outside his house.

Now, he could finally make out the words that were whispered to him. He listened to the voices intently, absorbing the information they provided. Sky flames licked his hand and seeped into his body. He was not afraid that the flames would hurt him, instead the flames gave him a bit of memories. Without the barrier Five minutes later, he looked up at his guests and nodded in understanding.

"Nice to see you again, Decimo and Kawahira. It seems our plan works." He grinned at his guests. "And have I said that you look cute as a child, Decimo?" His grin widened. "Nice to see you again too, Talbot-jiisan. But, please don't refer me as cute," Tsuna said in calm voice, but if you knew him, there was annoyance in his voice and also relief.

A chuckle then was heard, making both Talbot and Tsuna turned to the owner of the sound. Checker Face was in the middle of taking off his attire, showing Kawahira behind the checkered clothes and mask. "I agree with you on that one, Talbot," he chuckled again, making Tsuna scowled, no pouted. "But, now let's talk more about serious things." With that, their expression turned to more serious expression.

"Yes, our plan works, but not without a price. I am afraid that what we are afraid of turns out to be a reality," continued Kawahira. He then started to explain about the price, the burden on Tsuna's body, and how they already had some temporary solutions which they hoped could become permanent. It was not long for Talbot to understand for he already had the gist of what would happen before. Talbot said he would also look for some ways to help Tsuna.

Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of sky flames which after a few seconds turned to a blond man. "Ah, you decided to join our conversation, Giotto?" said Kawahira. "What an honor, Primo," added Talbot. The said person just gave a nod in acknowledge. "I just want to make sure that both of you do not forget to mention about my solid body to Talbot," he gave out his reason of visiting them. "Of course we are not forgetting such an important thing, right Tsuna-kun? We are just about to mention it before you come," reassured Kawahira as he nudged Tsuna. The brunet nodded then turned to Talbot again.

"It seems that I can channel my flames to Primo and make him solid. I found out after an outbreak. However, I never tried it again. Kawahira has theory that it's because the high voltage of my flames and the density. He also thinks that I can do it to others. What do you think?" Tsuna explained. Talbot thought for a moment. "Hmm, it's interesting. But from what I heard from Kawahira's explanation about your condition before it can be quite useful yet dangerous. You can exert your massive flames and let the ghosts being alive once again. It's dangerous if you can't find perfect balance and harmonize them well. It will also become a problem if the receivers unknowingly pull your flames excessively without their control. Thus, you must have perfect control. Tsuna you possibly already know this, but I'll tell you this once again. It is dangerous to have excessive flames as you are now, but it also dangerous to have flames depletion." Talbot was a genius. He could analyze the situation only with simple explanation from both Tsuna and Kawahira. "But still, we can try and experiment a little bit, of course under safety measures. I'll come up with something," added him.

"Okay then, now le-" Tsuna was about to direct the conversation to another topic when he suddenly fell down from his chair. He was gasping for air and trembling so bad. He was clutching his chest in pain. His flames flickered wildly around his body. What was wrong with him? He had not used many flames these two days nor did the limiters break. What did he do to get this attack again? '_Think, Tsuna, Think_.' He tried to think, but the pain bothered him so much. He could see the adults tried to help him by channeling flames and absorbing his flames. They tried to find the best way to help him. However, all of them were futile. The young soon-to-be-Decimo was still convulsing in pain on the floor.

"Shit! What happened?" asked Giotto panicky. He kept pumping his flames when he saw that it only hurt Tsuna more, he stopped. He tried to absorbing the flames next, but this time his body was the one that rejected the flames. "Damn! Everything I do is useless." Giotto started to lose his cool. His intuition was tingling, warning him of danger. Actually, it was the real reason why he visited Tsuna. His intuition suddenly warned him that something would happen to Tsuna, but he did not know what. Even though he expected another attack or outbreak, he expected it that he could also help not something like this. He could not even ease Tsuna's pain.

"The limiters do not break. It's supposed to work," Kawahira said. He pulled out a small jar. "Tsuna can you hear me? Please channel your flames to this jar. Can you do that?" Tsuna tried to do as what was told. He tried to lift his hand just to have it fell again and the pain got more intense. He tried to produce stable flames, but the flames seemed to have their own mind. The flames were torn between wanting to go out and stay inside. Unfortunately, Tsuna could not make the decision and control them, letting the flames fought among themselves.

Tsuna tried to fight the pain to focus and think clearly. He needed to find way. His intuition told him if he lost consciousness right now, it would be fatal for him or at least gave bigger problems to him. '_Shit! What did I do?'_ Tsuna racked his mind, searching for clue. He started to recall his actions before the attack. He only talked, drank his tea, took off his necklace, gave it to Talbot, walked through woods, went t- wait, the necklace, the pendant. It might be the answer. He hoped that it was really the answer.

"…p-p-endant.." His voice was really weak and hoarse. It took a lot of his strength to just speak that one word. Thankfully, the adults heard it. Talbot immediately put the pendant on Tsuna's chest. Tsuna grabbed the pendant and clutched it tightly. The effect was immediate. The flames started to calm down. Tsuna's breath started to get back to normal. Tsuna felt the flames now circulated normally and he could control them. After regaining control back, he sat up.

"I'm afraid that I start becoming dependent to this pendant, just like what the pacifiers do," Tsuna grimaced at the thought. "Now, let's shall continue our conversation, shall we? Where were we?" He put on a smile in an attempt to calm the adults. Despite the calm appearance of Kawahira and Talbot, he could see that they were worried. Giotto was the only one that was showing his worries openly. Tsuna knew that his attempt did not really work in appeasing their worries, but at least they seemed to be able to continue the discussion.

Tsuna stood up with Giotto's help and got back to his seat. He took a sip from his cup to wet his throat. "Now, about this pendant. I think it is more than what we think for," he started. "I don't know for sure but I suspect this pendant also has a part in getting back Byakuran's whole memories and also in just now attack."

Talbot was the first to give his thought. "I think you are quite true about the memories. The pendant gave me some memories back, but not whole. It seems to have different effects on each person. No, I think rather than person in general, I'll say it only give effects to certain flames and people that _have parts_ in that pendant. Perhaps you can get someone else's memories back."

Tsuna thought about the possibility for a moment. He shook his head. "No, I won't let others know." He did not want someone else to relive the pain and see the nightmare he had. He was back to save them from the pain, so why forced them experiencing and feeling things that were not supposed to happen? To share his burden? No he did not need that. He did not want to force his memories. He did not want to shape his friends like his old ones. He also wanted to spare them the pain, regret, and despair. After all, he still had these three people plus Byakuran to confide his thoughts and feeling. He did not need to drag another person. "Why?" asked Giotto. "Just no," Tsuna replied in a tone that said no more discussion.

They went into silence. Each lost into their own thoughts. Kawahira was the one who broke the silence. He voiced his thoughts. "I think you are right on how the pendant almost work the same way as the pacifiers." Kawahira looked remorseful. He then continued, "It already affects your flames so much. It also keeps the flames and the balance of it which we know that those flames are the source of your power and your existence in this timeline. I'm afraid that if the balance disturbed, it will not only affect you, your health, and your life but also the balance of Tri-ni-sette, in which will also affect the world. I'm sorry, Tsuna. It's not my intention to get back to the old system."

Tsuna shook his head. "Not your fault. You don't know. We don't know. No one of us knows. It's no one fault." Tsuna then gave them a smile. "At least I won't die immediately after I get separated from the pendant unlike how the pacifiers do to the Arcobaleno. I get like, what, an hour? Before it affect me. One thing for sure, I'm glad that we know it sooner. Now, I just need to be cautious." Tsuna threw another smile to reassure the older men.

"Tsunayoshi, I want you to never part from the pendant. Yes, it doesn't have immediate effect, but we can't be sure. We can't take the risk. We can always take greater measure to make sure that you'll never part from the pendant by patching in onto one part of your body permanently like the pacifiers, but we don't want that, do we? I can't let the balance of the world be interrupted after all." Kawahira more or less ordered Tsuna because before being Tsuna's friend and mentor, he was first and foremost was the Tri-ni-sette administrator and protector. Tsuna just nodded his head, showing his understanding and compliance.

They went into silence again. They were in silence for about 5 minutes before a scream of pain from the woods pierced the night. Tsuna immediately was ready for attack and to bolt out to the woods to save whoever it was that needed his help. He looked around the room to see the other's reaction, but they just stayed calm. It made Tsuna calmed down too. He raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"It seems you need more training in sensing flames, Tsuna-kun," Kawahira said with a smile that promised more tor-tutoring. Tsuna gulped. He looked at Talbot, "What's that?" Talbot grinned. "Nah, it's nothing. Just a certain student in the middle of activating the trap his tutor prepared."

"Hmm, shall we pay him a visit, Tsuna-kun?" Kawahira's smile got creepier. Tsuna knew the man was in the middle of scheming something to taunt the person they were talking about. He thought they should go incognito during this trip and try not to gain unnecessary attention. He let out a sigh. Tsuna was about to talk Kawahira out of it, but then decided against it. Tsuna grinned. "It seems fun, so why not?" Both Kawahira and Tsuna smirked while Talbot laughed and Giotto just shook his head. "But for now, let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted."

* * *

Dino Cavallone woke up inside a canoe that was floating in a lake. The sun woke him up. It was better than waking up from some 10-ton hammer or being electrocuted. How he did end up in a canoe he did not remember. It had to be one of his tutor's doings.

He sat up and looked at his surroundings. He was really far away from the shore. He groaned. He looked around the canoe to find the paddle. Sadly, he found nothing. He started to panic and stood up quickly, forgetting for a moment where he was. The canoe swayed and one clumsy Dino could not balance himself. He fell into the cold water which made him wide awake. The canoe overturned and floated far away from him because in his fall he just clumsy enough to accidentally kicked it away.

"Great! Now, I don't really need the canoe nor the paddles anymore, do I? I can just swim to the shore which likes two kilos away," he said sarcastically as his head surfaced from the water and saw that the canoe was not near him. He just started swimming to the canoe when a squeaky high-pitch voice called him.

"It looks like I don't need to wake you up. And what a nice change for you to have initiative to swim in the morning," Dino turned to the voice. A baby in suit was on a green boat that had a pair of eyes. "By the way, you swim the wrong way. Get to the shore in 10 minutes or else." The baby's beady eyes glinted. Hearing the threat, the young man immediately turned back and started swimming in full speed.

The baby smirked then sailed to the canoe to pull the canoe. A rope shot out from the backside of the green boat and wrapped the canoe. The baby then turned back again to sail to the shore. When he passed the swimming man, he said "One more thing, don't you think that you're forgetting something, stupid student of mine?" The words made him stopped suddenly.

"..forgetting something?" Dino thought what things he possibly had forgotten. He needed to remember for even if he reached the shore in allocated time but did not remember or brought the things he was supposed to bring, he would receive punishment. He searched his memories but did not find any ideas of what his tutor talked about. He thought harder, but still found nothing. Fortunately, few seconds later he got his answer.

Big shadow came from underwater. It was moving to the surface, right under him. The thing rose to the surface with Dino on top. Finally it showed his shape and his identity. "Oh Dio! Enzo! How can I forget about you?!" The blond shouted from the top of the giant turtle. Enzo swam to the shore just in three minutes, thanks to his giant body. Along the way, he ate everything that was in front of him. He started eating some trees after reaching the land. In a minute he already ate two trees. What the master aka Dino Cavallone did? He tried to not fall down from the turtle's back. He tried to balance himself. He was in the middle of grabbing a branch to balance himself when a figure landed on said branch.

"Congratulations! You got to the shore only in 5 minutes 47 seconds." Dino looked at the baby. He was not feeling relieved yet. He knew for sure that his tutor would have other things to say to tor-tutor him. He was right. The hitman tilted his head and put on an innocent thoughtful expression. "However, look at the mess you made," the baby clicked his tongue. "Mafia boss should clean their own mess and handle their own pet. Mafia boss is responsible. So, clean your mess and tame your pet, stupid Dino." He smirked as he stepped on the blonde's hands.

The pain made Dino let go of the branch. He slipped and the branch smacked him right in the face, fortunately he did not fall to the ground. He slid down to Enzo's neck and grabbed it tightly. Enzo who felt foreign thing on his neck started to move his head in an attempt to shake the thing off. Even though the movement was slow for Enzo, it had great impact on Dino. For him, the movement almost made him lost the grip and fell. Dino tightened his grip which in turn aggravated Enzo more. The shaking got faster and harder. It got more difficult for Dino to hang on. In just two minutes, he was thrown off to the ground, thankfully he landed on some bushes, but unfortunately there were some thorns on the bushes.

"OUCH!" Dino shouted in pain as he rolled away from the bush. After he got away from the bushes, he sat up and rubbed several parts of his body that were hurt. He then glared at the big turtle. "Enzo! You, bad boy!" he scolded the turtle. Dino stood up and brought out his whip. He whipped at Enzo only to smack his own face. He slashed his whip around, but none was able to hit. Every single slash was missed. Enzo just ignored his master and continued his big breakfast. He did not even glance at his master. Dino slashed more wildly, but still, he only hit air, branches, his leg, his arms, and the ground. He could not hit his target.

One infant tutor was looking at the scene with exasperation from atop of a big stone. "Stupid Dino can't even tame his own pet." He petted his own pet. The chameleon responded with licking his fingers. "Tch, he needs more training. Hmm, what tor-training method should I do next?" The infant wondered aloud to no one as he rubbed Leon's head absentmindedly. He thought several possible methods to have more fun. Perhaps they could go to the cliff after this, or meet several forest residents, or perhaps he could get more explosions. Oh, how he loved explosion. Okay then, it was already decided. Explosion it was. He could vent his feelings, practice his aims, and at the same time tor-tutor his student. Bullets, dynamites, grenades, Molotov, hmm.. what else he could use? With those thoughts, a smirk appeared on his face.

"It looks like you can still have fun with that body." A familiar voice interrupted his chain of thoughts. Reborn got tensed. He, the greatest hitman of the world, did not feel the other person coming. Reborn turned to the voice with Leon already on stand-by as his favorite weapon. He could not even feel the person's presence even now, when he already faced the other.

Right in front of him was the man he hated the most in the world, the man that had cursed him along with his colleagues. The man wore checkered mask, hat, and gloves. He was smiling at the hitman. "Buon giorno, sole arcobaleno," he greeted as he took out his hat and did a mock bow. The hitman did not reply the greeting. He did not trust the other man. He also did not feel the need to act civil with the other man.

"What do you want, Checker Face?" Reborn asked straight to the point. "Hmm.. What I want? I want to protect the Tri-ni-sette of course," answered the man still with his smile. Reborn's expression got darker. "Let me rephrase that, what are your intentions in visiting this humble me on this fine morning?" He asked once again. His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Checker Face just chuckled. "Why such hostility? I just come to check on the sun and to tell you some news on the curse. But, it seems, my presence is unwelcomed here, so I'll just go." He turned away from the hitman, ready to walk away.

The topic of the curse picked Reborn's interest. He did not trust the man but even fake lead was a lead, wasn't it? After a long time, perhaps they would get some lead that would bring them out of the stagnant research. He did not want to be stuck forever on this infant body. So he would grab any chance to release the curse.

Reborn swallowed his pride and called the blond "Wait." Checker Face stopped and turned his head to look at the hitman. He raised his eyebrow. "I thought you want me to go away quickly. What changes your mind?" Reborn gritted his teeth. The other man really irked him, but he needed to keep calm to extract more information. "Tell me the news and information on the curse." Reborn asked, no demanded.

Checker Face chuckled again. "Desperate, are we?" He walked closer to the baby. Reborn forced his body to stay still even though his instinct told him to fight or flight. Checker Face touched the yellow pacifier on Reborn's neck. "This," he twirled it with his forefinger and thumb, "can be taken off." Reborn stayed silent. He wanted to hear more before making any assumption. But, Checker Face also stayed silent. He waited for reactions. He observed the arcobaleno's expression.

After two minutes, Reborn surrendered. He gave out his reaction. "And at what price?" The other man chuckled again. Oh, how Reborn started to really hate that sound. This weird, manipulating man really liked to laugh on another person's misery. The man deliberately raised Reborn's curiosity and then delayed his answer just to get more reactions from the sun arcobaleno. Reborn hated to not knowing and he hated to be manipulated.

Checker Face let go of the pacifier. He stepped back and put his hands on the top of his cane. "Fufufufu.. Always straight to the point with the person you hate, huh? Hmm, price.. of course there is a price. There are no free things in this world. Of course, you already know about that firsthand don't you? The price is…." Checker Face stopped to give more dramatic effect. In turn, it really annoyed Reborn. "It depends," was the short and vague answer. Hearing that, Reborn's hand really itched to point Leon at the other man and shoot real bullet even though he knew it would be useless.

"Depends on what?" Reborn started to feel that he would not get any important information from this conversation. He got a feeling that the man came only to mock and tease him.

"The time. If you choose to take it off now or anytime sooner, the price will be your life which means it will be an useless attempt. If you choose to wait for, let's say two to three years the price will be different. It will be much better," Checker Face finally gave some real explanation. "And what's that?" asked Reborn.

"Don't worry about that. On that time, there will be already someone who will pay it for all of you in advance. The sky who accepts everything and anything, who embrace and protect other skies. The great sky with a big heart will be the one who pay it for you. Now, it's on your hand, which one do you choose, rush it or wait?" The answer was obvious. The great hitman knew which one was the best choice.

Checker Face already knew the answer without the hitman had to say it. He nodded to show his acknowledgment of the answer. "Last thing," he continued, "when the night decides to come and join others, when it accepts the day, when it starts getting brighter and when it decides to lend its power, only at that time, the time will start again for the seven. However, at the same time a storm is brewing. All protectors and guards need to join hand. The storm is greater than before. Be cautious!" With that last warning Checker Face vanished into thin air, leaving Reborn with so many things to think about. Those last words were obviously a warning, but he did not know for what or for whom.

Reborn brought up Leon to his face. The green chameleon immediately changed into a green phone. He wrote a short message and sent it to six people. It said, 'Curse. Urgent. Usual place' The hitman then fixed his fedora to shadow his face. He gritted his teeth. "Damn that Man in the Iron Hat. He made fun of me. I'll make sure to shoot him next time," he grumbled.

Reborn took a minute to calm down. He still needed to tor-tutor a certain student. He turned to face his students only to see no one. How could he miss his stupid student with that giant turtle? Where did they disappear to? Tch, it looked like the surprised visit really distracted him. But that stupid student of him, dare to disappear on him. Just look, when he found him—which would be in five minutes—that useless student of him would visit hell.

* * *

While a certain earthling was busy teasing the cursed baby, a certain brunet was stuck with 'playing' hide-and-seek with the Cavallone after the pet turtle decided to follow him. At first Tsuna followed Kawahira only to see his tutor's reaction, then he pitied his brother-to-be. That was why he decided to help Dino secretly. He would help him making Enzo back to his original size. Several years after he met Dino and trained with him, Tsuna finally could get Enzo back to his original size too.

Tsuna separated himself from Kawahira. He knew that his presence would be hidden by the ring on his finger. He approached the giant turtle from the other side of Dino and Reborn. He only needed to channel a right amount of his sky flames with the right way to the turtle. But it was also tricky for if he did not get it right, the sky flames would only make the turtle bigger. Enzo also needed to recognize the flames to have the full effect. To be recognized, the flames needed to be introduced and accepted by the master which was Dino. Enzo from his time already recognized his flames. He could only hope that somehow Enzo could still recognize his flames.

Fortunately, Tsuna's plan worked partly. Enzo was getting smaller slowly. Dino was busy tripping on his own feet so he did not see the changing. It was different with Enzo. The turtle felt the foreign yet familiar flames seeped into his body. He slowly turned his head to face the source. When he found it, he approached it, forgetting his food for he found something more interesting. His still-bigger-than-car body made the distance seemed short.

Tsuna cursed under his breath. It seemed his help was not so secret anymore. Enzo knew it and now he was approaching Tsuna. The regress process was too slow for Tsuna's liking. Enzo had not fully recognized his flames. Tsuna needed to get away from here before Dino realized where his pet was going and decided to investigate. Tsuna glanced at Dino. Too bad, the blond seemed to finally realize that his pet had stopped eating and now was going somewhere. The blond started to follow his pet. Fortunately for Tsuna, the blond was slowed down by his clumsiness. The man kept falling after several steps. It bought Tsuna time.

Tsuna went deeper to the forest but he could not go really far. He did not know the area. He needed to wait for Kawahira to be able to go back. He glanced at Reborn and Kawahira. He saw how Reborn's expression got darker and his body got tensed. He saw how Kawahira hid his laugh and smirks behind those small chuckles. Tsuna pitied the hitman. He could guess that the earthling was in the middle of taunting the hitman. Tsuna turned his attention back to Enzo and found that the turtle was already two meters behind him. He looked further behind Enzo, searching for the turtle's owner. Dino was inside a mud hole, tangled by his own whip. It seemed he needed some time to be able to get out from that situation.

Tsuna decided to stop and faced Enzo. When the turtle right in front of him, it was already on the size of a big wolf. Tsuna petted his head. Enzo leaned to his touch. Then, the turtle let out a sound which sound liked a wail. Tsuna knew that animal was sensitive beings but he did not know that they were this sensitive, even to things that were abstract like his existence in this timeline. He had a guess that Enzo could feel Dino's flame from him. Seeing from his reaction, it seemed that Enzo already got some ideas of who Tsuna was. Tsuna rubbed Enzo's head lovingly, trying to calm him down.

The regress process suddenly got faster. Enzo finally fully recognized Tsuna's flames. In a minute Enzo was back to his original size. Tsuna picked up Enzo and brought him to Dino. Tsuna put Enzo seven meters in front of Dino, right on Dino's line of sight so he would not miss it. Just right when he was about to put it down, the turtle bit him. It seemed Enzo did not want to part from him. Tsuna tried to shake it off, but Enzo bit harder. Tsuna did not have the heart to use more force.

Tsuna petted Enzo's head again. "Ssh, it's okay. We'll meet again. Don't worry. I need to go now. It is not the time to meet your master yet. So, please let me go," coaxed Tsuna. The turtle seemed reluctant. It looked like that the turtle was in the middle of digesting Tsuna's words and thinking about those words. Then it started loosening its bite. Tsuna then crouched down and put the turtle on the ground. "Now, off you go." Enzo stared at Tsuna which Tsuna replied with a reassuring smile. Enzo then started to walk to his master. Tsuna watched him from behind the bushes, making sure that Enzo could reach Dino safely or Dino could take Enzo safely.

Tsuna did not have to wait long. After five minutes, finally Dino was able to get out from the mud hole, saw Enzo, and picked him up. Dino was about to put Enzo back into his jacket and was in the middle of petting it when the turtle bit him then moved wildly. The turtle moved his small head to Tsuna's direction and stared at it.

"What's wrong Enzo?" Enzo moved on Dino's palm toward Tsuna's direction. Dino could tell that his partner was trying to tell him something. Dino put him on the ground and let Enzo led him. After he was sure of the direction, he picked him up again. Along the way when he was not sure of the way, Enzo would nibble his finger and moved his head to show him the way. Dino was curious of what made Enzo acted like that.

Meanwhile, Tsuna was trying to hide. He never thought that the turtle let him go just to make his master met him. And damn that animal sense. Enzo seemed to know where he went to. He needed to get a stronger mist ring from Kawahira which could hide him from animal sense especially animal with dying will flames. Tsuna wished Kawahira would finish soon. They needed to go before Dino or even worse Reborn realized his presence.

Fortunately, his wish was answered. "It seems you have fun too, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Tsuna glared at the older man. "Oh really? I think you are the one who had too much fun in taunting the strongest hitman in the world," Tsuna retaliated. Kawahira smiled and was about to reply, but Tsuna cut him off. "Let's go now, before things get worse." Kawahira nodded. "One thing, get me another ring when we back." Kawahira raised an eyebrow. "Animal sense." With those two words, he understood. "Yes, yes, your majesty. Your wish is my command," Kawahira answered as he did a mock bow. Tsuna glared at him while Kawahira just grinned. Then a minute later, they disappeared into thin air.

Dino was confused. One time Enzo was eager to lead him and the next time he whimpered in annoyance and sadness. It made him stopped walking. He had no lead anymore. Dino tried to think more about the weird behavior but was disturbed by a kick to his head.

"Stupid Dino, where were you? What are you doing, standing like idiots in the middle of the forest?" Dino opened his mouth to answer, "Enzo was trying to t-" Unfortunately the hitman from hell was not in the mood to hear excuses, explanations, or babblings. "So you ask for more training, huh? I'll gladly add your training regime. Now what shall we do next?" Reborn smirked at the poor student, making the student went pale. "Well, for starter perhaps we c-" His words were interrupted by a phone call.

"Tch," Reborn pulled out his phone and answered the call. "Hn. All? Where? Okay, I'll be there." He hung up the call. "It seems today your lucky day, Dino. Training cancelled. Let's go back now," the hitman said then turned to walk outside the forest. Dino let out a relieved sigh and followed his tutor.

* * *

Six small figures gathered around a big long table. The atmosphere in the room was so tense. Each of them did not interact with each other. They were minding each own business and seemed in deep thought. No conversations were held. The only sounds were heard were the scratch of pencil on paper and money being counted. The figure with purple hair fidgeted on his seat. Then he opened his mouth, trying to start a conversation. "What do you guys think, about the information Reborn has?"

An infant in red Chinese garb was the one who answered. "Must be very important. He even gathers us here." He then sipped his tea. "Che, I hope it worth my money, or I'll charge him," grumbled an infant with a pair of triangle tattoos on both cheeks and a hood covered the eyes. The attire made people questioning the infant's gender. "He must have found a new lead, kora!" shouted a blonde infant in military attire in excitement. " Tch. I won't expect much. After all, I haven't found anything in so many years," a green haired infant said as he fixed his glasses. "Don't be so pessimistic like that, kora" replied the blond. "I'm not pessimistic, I'm just being realistic," the green haired infant replied without looking at the blonde. "You! Verde, you-"

The door slammed open, stopping the fight that was about to break. Six pairs of eyes turned to the door and there stood another infant. "Ciaossu," greeted the infant cladded in black. The others replied his greeting with nods. Then the strongest hitman in the world walked to the table. When he finally settled down on his chair, he took a glance around the room. Seeing, that everyone was present and ready, he started the meeting with one sentence that brought many reactions.

"I met the Man in Iron Hat." First there was only silence, then killing intent filled the room. Last, all hell broke loose.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the very late update. Sorry that all of you have to wait so long. This chapter was about 6,800 words. Actually I wanted to write more to make up for my late update, but I don't want to make you guys wait anymore. I hope this chapter will suffice. Please give me your feedback. And for Dino and Reborn's part, I remember that someone ask me about them and to get Tsuna meet them in Italy. I think, why not? There you go, Dino and Reborn scene ^.^

**Question: **Who wants to see Arcobaleno's meeting scene? If no one want it, I'll skip it and just go right to Vendice scene. *oops spoiler for next chapter* hohoho XD

**SANIA0306:** Thank youuu, glad that you like it. Actually the last chapter was more than 7000 words hehehe ^^

**Announcement**: I'm looking for Beta Reader. Anyone want to help me? ^.^ Feel free to PM me~ :)


	10. Broken Pieces

"I met the Man in Iron Hat." Those words were not expected, but the reactions were expected. The strongest infants in the world were gathered together in a single place to have impromptu meeting. Sensing the urgency from the hitman's message, one of them, Lal Mirch to be exact, decided to move the meeting place. The usual meeting place which was the pond was a little far away and she knew that most of them were in Italy or somewhere nearby. They needed closer and more secure place. The new meeting place had more security measure and it was also already coated with illusion. Only Arcobaleno knew this place and could find this place.

All of them knew the meeting would be important and straightly confidential just to their group. However, none of them expected that Reborn had the honor to meet the one who cursed them and even got information from the meeting. They needed time to get over the shock and then process the words.

Man in the Iron Hat. The man who cursed them, who made all of them shrunk to infant, who made them lost their body, who tricked and forced them to live the life they did not want to, and who gave them the burden of the world in a shape of small and seemingly-innocent pacifier. That small pacifier was the one that tied their life to the world and also the source of all their problems. That pacifier brought sufferings to those who own it. The body changing brought trouble and humiliation. It limited their actions. It forced them to distant themselves. Their way of life already required them to keep everyone at arm length but now with this curse, it took it to another level. They did not know when the curse would finally kill them without any warning. They would not have a chance to have a real family, as in husband, wife, and children, family with blood ties. The curse killed their dreams and ambitions. After all, there were only few things that infants could do with their body and also appropriate actions in public. Many people underestimated them, of course it would help them in facing their enemies in a battle, but it was getting tiring. They were tired to be always treated like a useless, vulnerable kid who could not do anything, when in fact they were already adults but unfortunately trapped in kid's body. Of course they would hate, no, loathe the man who was the source of their suffering.

The arcobaleno had searched the cure for many years without any result. They had tried to look for the Man in the Iron hat too, but it was like the man did not exist. They could not find any trace. Now, this man suddenly appeared in front one of them. They finally could have their revenge or even get the cure. With this thought, every single person in the room except the news bringer was thinking of several ways to do their sweet revenge. Killing intents spiked up. Eyes glinted with dark and malice intentions. Their true colors as people who were involved in mafia were shown.

Several people bolted from their seats to demand more answers. Several weapons also brought out as if the enemy was right in front of them. The weapons gave them more sense of security and like they had control over things. The room immediately fell into chaotic clamor. People talked at the same time. Chair scrapped against the floor. Hands slapped onto the table.

"What the bastard do?"

"Reborn what did he say?"

"Where is he?"

"Did you able to hurt him?"

"Tell me how to find him, I'll give you my pay for this month."

"Hahaha the Great Skull will be the one who bring him to his knee."

"Hm, If I was there, I could put a tracker on him. There is only small percentage he will show himself again."

"I'll prepare my best rifle, kora!"

"Explain!"

Click. A gun was loaded then shot to the air.

"Silence!" The fedora wearing baby sent a glare from under his fedora. When he was sure that he finally had the others' attention, he put down his gun. "The curse, remember? That's what our meeting about," The hitman glance at each of them to emphasize his words.

"What about it, Reborn?" asked the infant with black braided hair.

"He mentioned about a cure an-" The room fell into clamor again. Some expressed their disbelief. Some expressed their curiosity. Some was not patient to hear the answer. The noise irritated the hitman. A click of gun was heard again and the room fell into another silence.

"Do you want to hear the rest of it or not?" asked one annoyed hitman.

"How? What's the price?" asked a green-haired scientist to bring the conversation back on track.

"He did not tell me how, but he told me the price. It will cost our life if we choose to lift the curse right now but if we wait a few years, it won't. The bargaining chip and price will change, but he didn't tell me the detail. He only said it was already paid in advanceif we decided to wait. Then he gave me more riddles," Reborn retold his surprise meeting along with the riddles he got. The riddles gave them more questions than answering the questions they already had.

"Hm, the latter's offer if we wait seems too good to be true. Are you sure there's no other price he mentioned?" asked the hooded baby. The hitman just shook his head. No more clue.

"The riddle, it obviously talks about a sky guardian, but whom exactly, that's the question. Sky flames itself is so rare. And who's the night? The seven would be us for the sky arcobaleno's time does not stop. And that foreboding warning, it seems something big will happen in the next few years," the green haired scientist concluded.

"But, can we believe him?" piped Skull. All went silent. They just looked at each other. They knew the Man in the Iron Hat could not be trusted. Just look at the last time they believed in his offer, they got cursed. However, all of them also knew, they did not have many choices. This was the best lead they got so far. They needed to take whatever chances they had.

"What should we do, kora?" Colonello asked the question on everyone mind. He had thoughtful expression on his face. With the question, the room fell into silence. They were trying to answer the question.

"Prepare, research and wait," was the answer and all of them seemed to agree with it. The conversation continued with details on deciphering the riddles and getting more information. However, the whole time they did not realize there were other who also heard their conversation despite the tight security and illusion.

* * *

A cloaked body walked in hasty steps toward a single room at the end of the hallway. The long stride cut the travel time. The figure knocked the door. After hearing the permission from inside, the figure opened the door and walked inside. There, an infant cloaked in bandaged and black cloak was in the middle of reading some documents. The infant raised his head to acknowledge the newcomer.

"Jager," the infant acknowledged the newcomer. He then gave a small nod, signaling the man, now known as Jager, to speak. Jager gave a small bow before speaking.

"Master, Checker Face had shown himself to the sun arcobaleno. There was a small residue of his flame." The said master nodded. After all he already felt it himself.

"I already felt it, but please continue." He needed more information on what the current arcobaleno did with the current development and what the meeting about.

"The current arcobaleno went on meeting and talked about it. Checker Face gave them some riddles to be solved about the curse," Jager then relayed the riddles to his boss. Hearing the riddle, the infant narrowed his eyes behind the bandages.

"The night? Is he talking about us?" asked the infant more to himself. He thought to himself for a few moments before looked at his subordinate again. "How do you able to get this information? Have we finally able to look beyond the mist arcobaleno's illusion?"

"We.. we are not sure ourselves. There seems a crack on his illusion and the technology for a split second. It gives us time to infiltrate. However we feel that this is intentional, but by a third party."

"Who and for what reason?" The small boss muttered to himself. Fortunately or unfortunately, his questions were answered immediately by a new voice.

"To pick up your interest, of course Bermuda," a cheery voice chirped in. Both Bermuda and Jager tensed up and immediately brought out their chains. In reflex, the chains flung to the voice before they even looked at the voice. When they finally turned their head to the intruder's location they saw a spiky haired brunet did backflip to avoid the chains.

"Oops, can you please put back your chains? I just want to talk." The brunet threw a disarming smile. The two vindice did not retract their chains but instead raising their killing intents.

"Who are you? How do you get here?" asked Jager, his chains still trying to catch the seemingly ten year old boy.

"How do you know that name, kid?" hissed Bermuda as he warped around to catch the brunet. The young boy seemed to know where the infant would appear or where the chains would spike. He was able to avoid the attacks.

"How am I supposed to answer if both of you keep attacking me?" The boy asked back as jumped over a chain, twisted his body to avoid a hand that was trying to grab his hair, and then bended his body to avoid the punch from the tallest man in the room. The boy started to sweat. He pulled his head back just right when a chain almost nicked his face. He caught the chains then pulled it down harshly, hoping that he could unbalance the owner. His strategy failed, he continued avoiding another barrage of attacks. A chain went to his leg, another went to his arm, one went to his torso, and another to his neck. The brunet let his body fell forward, his hands broke his fall, then swirled his legs up to kick the chains. He used a strong force to keep the chains at bay. He then flipped back to his feet. The infant stopped warping around and instead perched on Jager's shoulder. All of them stopped for a moment to regain their breath.

"Please cease your attacks. I come in peace, I swear. I have proposals for you, for your revenge on Checker Face." Jager was about to attack again when he heard the name the boy mentioned. He glanced at his superior. After seeing the subtle nod, he retracted his chains.

"Okay, kid. Let's hear your explanation," said the infant with commanding voice. The boy wiped out his sweat and let out a sigh.

"Finally," muttered the boy in relief, "can you give me a more warm welcome next time?" asked the boy cheekily. The killing intent rose again.

"Answer the damn questions, kid," demanded the furious infant with clear pacifier.

"Fine, fine," the boy put his hands in front of his body trying to calm them. "I know a way to stop the curse system. Isn't taking control over the curse system from Checker Face is the best revenge?" The boy smirked.

"Who are you to know such things?" Bermuda said with hostility but the brunet could see that he was thinking of the suggestion.

"The name is Tsunayoshi. I am just gifted with more information and several bonds that run deep into my blood and time. Now, do you want to hear the detail?" The boy's expression turned serious as if he was in tough negotiation in which he indeed was in the middle of important negotiation. The Vindice boss and second in command were in thought for a moment. They whispered to each other for several minutes before finally came into a conclusion.

"Fine," Bermuda grumbled out his answer. Hearing the answer Tsuna's expression brightened a bit. "But, before we go into details, answers our questions first." Tsuna nodded, he already expected this.

"How do you get here?" asked Jager. The brunet shrugged.

"Portal, mist flames and some helps in between."

"And who is the person that helps you?"

"Every magician needs to keep their trick a secret, doesn't he?" was the cheeky answer as the boy put his forefinger in front of your mouth and threw a wink to the Vindice, making them more upset.

"How do you know that name?" The boy raised his eyebrows as if asking which name the Vindice meant.

"Kid, answer me. How do you know that name?" hissed the baby, finally voicing his irritation. The said kid did thinking pose and after a few moments he clapped his hand in understanding.

"Ah, do you mean your name, **_Bermuda_**?" Tsuna put emphasize on the name and cheeky grin was on his face. "Why don't you just say so? Hmm, I know your name and several of your subordinates' from past experience and also old friends. Don't worry I will not tell your name recklessly to anyone else. Now can we proceed to my proposals?" Bermuda clenched his fist in anger. This brat dared to make fun of him. He knew information that not so many knew. He was not afraid of Bermuda or any Vindice. Bermuda knew that he could not get more definite answer from the boy.

"Two last questions, boy. How old are you and who sent you?" Bermuda thought that the boy was too young to be able to infiltrate Vindicare. He should not have any strong connection. Even the strongest and most powerful famiglia did not really have access to Vindicare. So how did this young boy, able to? Who was the person behind his infiltration? Bermuda had suspicion on the boy's condition. He just needed to make sure of something first.

"Sent me? I come here on my own initiative," Tsuna chuckled, "and my age? How old do you think I am?" His eyes glinted with something, with knowledge and inside jokes. "My answer for now is eleven years old. I just had my birthday around three months ago." Then as an afterthought, he added, "by the way do not underestimate me because of my appearance or _age_. After all I don't underestimate you Bermuda."

Bermuda had confirmed his suspicion. This boy was older than his looks. Perhaps he was an adult trapped in kid's body or something else. Bermuda was not sure about the boy's condition, but he was sure that the boy was more than his look. However, still, the boy really annoyed him with all his comments and behaviors. Bermuda was the mature one here, so he would not rise to this Tsuna boy's baits.

"Fine boy, let's hear your proposal first." Tsuna's smile widened.

"The arcobaleno system can be stopped only if there is another container that can contain the flame and its power. The pacifier acts as the power holder which keeps the power at bay and also the one which helps in feeding the flames from the pacifier's owner. I think you and all of the Vindice already know about the basic work of the pacifiers, so I'll skip the explanation and go straight to the solution."

"All we need is seven jars which each of them will be filled with each flames of the sky. The flames must be pure, dense, and powerful, S class if I have to classify. And we need a lot of them. But then, the flames can't reproduce by themselves and this is where you and the Vindice come in, Bermuda. By your flames, the Night Flame, acting as the connecting loop between those seven jars of flames, those flames will continuously accelerated and replenish themselves. The pacifiers and Arcobaleno won't be needed anymore, then." Tsuna looked at the Vindices, trying to gauge their reactions. The gear on the baby's head was on move. He was thinking of several possible outcomes.

"How can I be sure that this will work or how this method will sustain in the future?" asked the baby in doubts.

"This will work. The Arcobaleno curse will be lifted. Ask old man Talbot," Tsuna said with resolution. His eyes told no lies as they flickered orange. "However, I'll be honest with you here. The future is not yet set. I can't tell the future. The sky arcobaleno may have the power to predict the future, but still, it can't be 100% accurate. Many things, even the smallest thing, can affect the future. Our meeting today may change the future. It's up to you how you want to sculpt your future. But, here's a little advice from me: Don't hesitate to ask for help this time. Because even the strongest people still need shoulder to lean on. Don't be afraid to reach out to others, you'll be shock on how many people will hold your hand back." The brunet's expression turned grim when he talked about the future. He met the eyes of the leader of Vindice when he told his advices. They stared at each other. One tried to convey messages and the other tried to decipher.

"Okay boy, I'll consider your proposal." Bermuda was still unsure for the boy's words and actions only brought more questions than answers. The boy acted like he knew Bermuda and the Vindices personally. Bermuda also had suspicion that the boy also knew the Checkerface on personal level and if it was right then there were more reasons for Bermuda to reject the offer. "How much do you know about Checkerface? You seem to know him on personal level." The last part was not a question. It was a statement which Bermuda was sure of. Hearing that, a playful smirk appeared on Tsuna's face.

"Ah, you noticed," the boy did not deny it, "Don't worry, I don't like his old ways too and he also has seen the wrong of his ways. I can guarantee that he wants to change it too. If there is a better way, he will take it, after all his purpose is only to protect the Tri-ni-sette. But…" He paused, then his smirk turned to a pout. "I have a name you know. Don't call me by kid, brat, or boy. You ask for my name but you don't use it. How rude of you, **Bermuda**." Once again the boy emphasized on the baby's name, expecting the baby to do the same thing. After all Tsuna did not call the eldest Vindice by brat, baby, or kid, but by his name.

Another ticked mark, appeared on Bermuda's head. The boy acted like he knew Bermuda on a familiar level, and it ticked Bermuda. He hated not knowing things especially things that involving him and his secret. This boy seemed really like to rile him up. Bermuda chose to ignore the last part, and continue the previous conversation.

"Okay, boy," Tsuna glared and pouted at the same time, making Bermuda to amend his words and holding back a sight, "Okay, Tsuna," Here, the boy smiled at his accomplishment. "What are your intentions?" The question was answered by a disarming smile with determined eyes from the brunet.

"Just to protect family and friends alike." Bermuda sensed no lies from the boy. The room fell into silence.

"…I'll contact you later to give my answer." Tsuna did not need to ask on how the Vindice would contact him for he was sure on Vindice's capabilities. Tsuna nodded, gave a thankful smile for he was grateful that the Vindice even considered his offer.

"Ah, 'kay then. Bye for now. Thank you for your time, gentlemen." Tsuna gave a gentleman bow and when he straightened up, he threw a last playful smile. In a second, the boy was already an inch from the baby's face as he hugged the baby tightly and whispered parting words beside the baby's ear. The shock made both Vindice could not react fast or even attacked. They did not expect this turn of event. Some boy just hugged a so-feared Vindice. He had death wish which the Vindice would gladly grant. Fortunately for the boy, or unfortunately for the Vindices, the jailers were so shocked and did not know what to do.

"Miss you, glad to meet you again. Hope this time you will rely on other more. Bye for now." The words said with sincerity, gratefulness and a tinge of sadness which made the Vindice boss stiffened more. Tsuna pulled from the baby, smirked and added, "Oh, by the way, Checker Face says sorry and hello. He agrees to meet you as long as you don't have any intention to kill him. Ciao~" Without waiting the answers, Tsuna already disappeared into thin air, leaving the two Vindices with a lot of questions and suppressed anger and annoyance. Oh how Tsuna really loved to tease and rile up the dark, gloomy, vengeful, and stiff jailer sometime. A crack on their mask really gave satisfaction to Tsuna.

The Vendicare went more gloomy, cold and dark. Killing intents mixed with cold rage and annoyance could be felt in the air. It seemed the prisoners would get more torture that day. After all suppressed rage needed to be let out or the explosions would be far worse later on.

* * *

"Finish?" asked the white-haired man.

"Uh-hm," the brunet hummed in answer.

"How was it?" The answer just a smile and the man did not need to ask any more.

"It seems you had fun." The smile got wider.

"Don't act like you don't. After all you were there and I saw you left something for them," replied the younger which made the older smirked.

"Ah, you got me there. It's just a little gift from me, a reminder you could say." (In Vendicare, a certain night-flame holder clenched a piece of paper while he glared at a plushy doll on the table which was a miniature of a smiling – or was it smirking? – Checker Face. On the paper there was a message, 'Don't think that after all this centuries you know me, Bermuda. There are still many pieces of puzzles that you don't have yet, so don't rush it, just take your time and have fun~' A wink emoticon was added. The baby could not hold down his anger anymore and threw the doll and the paper to the ground. "Burn them," he ordered then warped away.)

"And you get really bad sense. Let me choose for you next time," replied the brunet.

"Ah, yes, yes," the man nodded then continued, "So where to go now, oh mighty Vongola? Want to visit your grandfather or your father?" asked the man again. Hearing the nickname, the younger's eyes twitched.

"Nah, let's go back to old man Talbot, need to rely some messages. Then after that, let's go home." The bespectacled man raised his eyebrows.

"Home?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, home. Namimori. Nothing else I can do here in Italy."

"Not visiting your father, huh, or you dear grandpa? Or perhaps that grouchy man that still trapped in ice?" A teasing smile broke out on the older man's face. Hearing the man's words which could be seen as teasing words and also disguised suggestions, an idea passed Tsuna's mind. But he shrugged it off.

"Nah, not now. Enough for now, I already miss Kaa-san's homecooks."

"Aye, captain, whatever you say," teased the older again which made the younger rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes. Off we go now, Talbot-ji must be already waiting for us"

* * *

Later in that night, Tsuna felt that his whole being finally registered the toll of doing many things in a short time plus a nearly fatal accident. It was the last night of his Italy trip and he would be back to Japan the next day. Some worries and heavy feelings were able to be lifted but some more appeared or re-appeared. After such a long and adventurous week when he could only focus on his goals which included convincing several people and conveying his meant through actions and words, he finally could let himself feel. At the end of the week, he finally felt how those activities drained him, physically and mentally. But, Tsuna was stubborn, and he still wanted to keep all of it by himself. He would still going strong and just let himself got a few hours of rest. He believed that he needed to be busy and distract himself with activities. However, still, his body was an eleven-years-old boy and his mentality was one who was in trauma and everyone had their breaking point.

Tsuna just got back from bathroom and found Giotto already materialized inside his appointed room for the night in Talbot's house. The blond sat on the bed. He patted the space beside him, inviting Tsuna to sit beside him. The boy walked to his grandpa's side. His moves were sluggish and he suppressed several yawns already on the way to the bed. Despite what his physical body felt, Tsuna knew that he would – could not sleep. Hopefully with his grandpa here, he would get more peaceful and restful sleep. The blond's presence really calmed the brunet.

"Ah night Jii-san, what are you doing here?" Tsuna sat beside his ancestors while holding back another yawn. He let the older man pulling him to the blond's broad chest. Giotto's arm held Tsuna protectively and Tsuna sighed in content. It was so warm and comforting. The blond then started caressing the brunet's hair, making the brunet more comfortable in his embrace.

"Good job, you've done many things this week, but don't you think it's time to let go a little?" The adult said in soft voice. The kid knew what the man meant, he was not surprised as he was also sure that the other two men in this house also knew or had some ideas. The pre-teen boy let out a deep sigh, like he held a burden of the world on his small shoulders. He felt so tired but he could not stop. He needed to do something or he would remember – or perhaps forget, it was depended on the case – so he did everything non-stop, he stopped thinking. However, now he was at his limit, and deep inside he knew that he wanted to let go but he did not know how.

"It's hard, isn't it?" continued the blond. The brunet just closed his eyes and leant his head to the older's chest. Then the blond decided to continue again. "It's hard to not see their older selves who just died recently, to not see their death, to stay strong and act like nothing wrong happened, to hide your sorrows and pains behind those brave words and smiles, to be the strong pillars when you're already cracked inside, to bear all of it alone. If it is not hard, it must be tiring." One hand tightened the hug while the other one patted the brown hair.

"For now, it's okay to let down your wall. You've held it for long enough. They are still alive and will stay that way for many years to come. They don't need to know but you need another shoulder to lean on, so here I lend you my shoulder."

Despite how much Tsuna already promised himself to not break down again especially in front of Primo, he could not hold it anymore. He was tired. Both of them knew, Tsuna already on the edge of breaking down. The week really strained Tsuna's mental. Tsuna could not stay in denial and say that he was fine while in fact he was not really fine.

First, he saw his father, Basil and CEDEF agents. His eyes even met Basil's. He hoped that the boy did not see the darkness in his eyes. It had been a really long time since the last time he saw his father whether in this timeline or in his own timeline. He remembered how that idiot father of him took the bullets meant for him and Nana. But in the end, Tsuna could not even protect his mother. Then Basil, that sweet boy who took over CEDEF, already did his best in the time of war and acted as the second Vongola. He was already like Tsuna's brother. That eyes that met him were full of questions and suspicions, but they were alive and Tsuna was grateful for that.

Next, Mukuro and his gang. Tsuna was glad that Lancia was still had control over himself and Mukuro had not broken him yet. He was still the same kind man who really cared for children. The mist, his mist, was still full of hatred and needs to revenge, full of bitterness and loneliness. His laugh was still creepy, but there was still compassion to his 'pack'. Tsuna knew that Mukuro had not accepted him or trusted him yet. Mukuro wanted to deceive him and Tsuna let him believed that he could do that. He knew that Mukuro only wanted his power and used him for his revenge, – just like old time – but it was okay. Mukuro had not experienced the prison especially the water prison and he was still alive. That was what mattered and Tsuna was grateful for that. He could not bear with the mist that did not laugh mischievously again, the mist that was only a remnant of lingering illusion that once upon a time instilled fear to many.

And Byakuran. He did not expect for the Gesso to remember him. He almost hugged the marshmallow lover to death and broke down in front of him when he said he remembered. But he knew if he broke down it would make Byakuran worried and he would slip out several details on his conditions. He could not afford that. Still, he was happy that he got one more person on his back. He did not need to face a megalomaniac marshmallow lover once more. Once was enough. He could act a little bit more freely – like his adult self – in Byakuran's presence, but he coul-would not tell him everything. He could see the pain and guilt in the white-haired boy's eyes and Tsuna knew for sure those feelings would increase if Byakuran knew more about the details.

Gokudera, his loyal right-hand man and best friend, had already experienced many betrayals in his young age. Distrust, recklessness and low self-esteem, he was far from the storm guardian Tsuna knew, but Tsuna could see the potential. He did not want the overly-loyal and obsessed guardian – though it had cooled down in the future – he just wanted friend. Despite how many times Tsuna told him to think more about his life, in the end the stubborn storm still recklessly gave away his life for the sky, did not really care that he left one grieving sky after that. Tsuna hoped that the boy followed his advice and be more cautious.

Another meeting that almost made him lost it was the meeting with Reborn, his personalized tutor from hell. Reborn had taught him many things, had given him many things, and had changed his life. Tsuna knew he owed him a lot. But, he let him down, he failed him. Tsuna could not protect his family like what Reborn always taught him, instead he let them to their doom. He missed his mentor, his advisors, that always reminded him to think thoroughly. However how much many thought that the best hitman in the world was invincible, Reborn was only human and human had weakness. The hitman died in a battle and brought down many with him. Tsuna could not say how much he was really grateful seeing the onyx beads filled with mischief ideas to torture his student, which was Dino at the moment.

Dino, oh his overly-clumsy older brother, who taught him many things too, who was there to show him things when he first became mafias, who stayed with him until the end, who believed in him, and who was died with his famiglia. Tsuna remembered when the blond man soothed him after his first kill. He was there to make sure that his little brother was fine. The man was always cheerful and tried to cheer Tsuna, but later on those smiles changed to worry lines.

Bermuda and the Vindice another people who seemed invincible and were feared by many, but at the end they also had fallen. Even though they were strong, their power was limited. Moreover, they were reluctant to ask for help when they were already in a pinch – they were just too stubborn – and when other realized the damaged already done. Tsuna hoped this time Bermuda heard his advice, but first he needed to gain the other friendship again.

Meetings after meetings without any real break for dealing with whatever emotions he felt took tolls on Tsuna's body and mind. The addition of the condition of the pendant added more pressure on Tsuna. He stacked one feeling atop another, bottled it up, and kept it for himself. It strained his mentality. Nightmares came back. Present and past, what ifs and what would be, facts and possibility were mixed up, blurred up in dreams. The stacks of hidden feelings were getting too high and almost exploded. He needed to let go and finally Giotto's acts helped him.

Tears started running down on his face. Silent tears became choking sobs. Hands clenched on Giotto's shirt, one thing that connected him to the real world. Another thing was Giotto's hand that caressed his back. The tight hug reminded Tsuna that all was real, they were still alive, he was alive, and he had one more chance. Tsuna broke down once again and hopefully the next day the broken pieces could be patched again even though only momentarily.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait. Here is another chapter to quench your thirst. Actually, I started writing this chapter right after I posted the last chapter but unfortunately suddenly I got bombarded by assignments - I know, sounds like excuses, right? - but yes it is my excuse hahaha

Here is the next chapter and again I don't really satisfy with it as because I got distracted I forgot the next plot .-. sorry, my bad. Still hope you like it enough. I'm sorry too because it is not as long as previous chapters and I'll try to make it up by posting another chapter soon - still not making any promises, though. Please give reviews and critics. Your reviews will be gifts for me as I will get older in two days, Yeay!

Last but not least, **I NEED BETA READER, PLEASE! :)**


	11. Chance to Change

Yamamoto Takeshi always took everything in stride. He just smiled and laughed at whatever life threw at him, or at least that what he did in public. Some people regarded him as an idiot who could not really think. Some thought he was only a jock who did not use his brain and only used his muscle. Some thought he could not read the situation. Well, one thing those people did not know was that he could be really observant if he wanted to. Behind those smiles he still used his brain to analyze things and feelings. He knew how some kids just were fakes. He knew how some just wanted fame and popularity, how some just really shallow and superficial.

Not like most of his classmates, Yamamoto Takeshi realized the changes happened around him moreover the changes around one Sawada Tsunayoshi which in turn gave impact to him. It had not been a year since he befriended the brunet, but he already felt and saw many changes. For a starter, let us talked about the changes he felt toward himself.

Takeshi felt he was happier. He felt he could smile more sincerely. He was more immune to people's opinions. He could relax and take it easy. His mind was also more opened to new things. He got a new circle of friends which now he could really call as friends not just a bunch of people who wanted to be 'infected' by his popularity. He was proud of his new friends. He did not regret his decision to reach out to the so-called Dame-Tsuna. If it was not for him, Takeshi would not know what having real friends like, what real opinions and critics that could construct him. He would not befriend Hana, Kyoko, Ryohei-senpai, or Hibari-senpai. Tsuna was awesome like that. He could befriend those people in a short time and in turn Takeshi also befriended them. Tsuna was the glue that united those people and what he did really amazing. It was such a loss for those people who underestimated Tsuna, they did not know what they missed.

Now let's proceed to the changes on Tsuna as a person. Takeshi would blind – his words – if he did not see how the boy changed. Takeshi himself decided to befriend Tsuna because of the small changes on the boy, just like what Kyoko and Hana did – he was sure that both girls approached the boy because he changed so suddenly. The already lone boy became more closed suddenly but his grades went up and his personality became more mature. Takeshi saw those eyes that held no childish innocence. Takeshi did not understand those eyes. He just could decipher one major thing, sadness or grieving or whatever things related to unhappy – he could not really decide on what he saw, perhaps everything.

Takeshi knew somehow the brunet wanted to withdraw from the society or any class interactions. His suspicions were proved the day they approached the brunet the first time. Tsuna seemed wanted to run away, this what Takeshi did not understand. They did not want to hurt Tsuna so why he wanted to run. He also saw them with those sad eyes and sometime longing and guilty expression could be seen. Takeshi knew he was not the only one who realized this, the girls did too. Then Ryohei and Hibari-san came to the picture. They asked for fight (Hibari) and training (Ryohei) or sparing in Tsuna's word. Takeshi did not even know that the seemingly scrawny boy could fight. Actually, no one of them really knew much about the brunet.

After school Tsuna would go with his uncle. He said that he always helped in his uncle's store. Then Kyoko and Hana asked him to spend more time with them, Hibari asked for more fights, and Ryohei asked for more extreme training while Takeshi just tagged along. Thus, Tsuna only helped his uncle on Tuesday and Thursday. On that day, no one would disturb him because Tsuna had said firmly that his uncle was the first person that he made promise with, thus he could not just suddenly stopped coming.

Tsuna sometimes showed up with bruises that he tried to cover up. Takeshi did not know where those came for. There were many possibilities. They could be from Hibari, Ryohei, or even bullies. Takeshi was afraid to ask, he was afraid that Tsuna would close himself again.

Tsuna seemed like the one who did not talk much. He rarely talked about himself and let the others talked. Fortunately, as time went by, Tsuna started to give more honest opinion on several matters. His opinion sometimes really blunt but sometime he could also be vague and secretive like he knew something that the others did not. His words could motivate and encourage people. He became more open in voicing his thoughts. He seemed to be more at ease in their presence. He even could scold Takeshi when the baseball lover had negative thoughts on his mind about himself. How the brunet knew was a wonder to Takeshi. The brunet also smiled more though sometime Takeshi could see some bitter smiles or painful smiles. Oh how sometime, Takeshi hoped he could wash away those painful expressions on Tsuna's face and in his heart. Tsuna was better with a smile on his face.

Winter vacation came. Takeshi hoped that he could spend it with his friends especially Tsuna for he wanted to know more about the brunet. Tsuna still had not talked much about himself. He always said nothing much to talk about him. When they asked on how Tsuna knew how to fight he just answered someone taught him because he would need it in the future. When they wanted to go further into the talk, Tsuna averted the topic without they even realized it. Thus, he hoped by spending more time with Tsuna, he could get to know his friend better. Unfortunately, the said friend already had a plan to go to vacation with his uncle. He did not see the brunet the whole holiday.

Then the new semester started. Tsuna came back with souvenirs to each of them. It turned out that he went to Italy on the holiday. It was really cool. Takeshi had not went outside Japan his whole life, fortunately he was still young and he was sure he would have a lot time to explore the world more. They asked about his vacation in Italy and what he did there. The brunet once again only talked a little and gave obvious answers before averting the conversation.

Takeshi also saw some changes happened after the winter vacation. Tsuna seemed to be a bit livelier after the winter break, just like some his burdens were lifted. Takeshi wondered what kind of heavy burdens an eleven-years-old boy had. Tsuna seemed more content on something. It must related to things happened in Italy. New questions appeared on Takeshi's mind, but what important was that Tsuna was happier. Then another thing that changed was nowadays Tsuna seemed often looking at his phone. Takeshi thought that Tsuna's parent might be really generous to give him phone while he was still in elementary school. However, that was not the point. What made this thing mattered was how Tsuna's expression changed when he checked his phone. There were frown, smiles, and upset expression. Sometime Tsuna also looked eager to get new messages. When asked, he said it just his uncle saying stupid things. It seemed Tsuna really close with his uncle, though Takeshi had a feeling that all those messages were not only from his uncle.

Tsuna was really full of mysteries and Takeshi – and the others too – still tried to solve it. Takeshi's days really got more fun and brighter because of Tsuna. It seemed he really made a right decision in befriending Tsuna. He did not know how the others felt about their friendship, but he thought it would not be really different.

* * *

Few weeks had passed since the start of new semester. Now that he got more contacts to help him, he could be more at ease. There were Byakuran and Talbot that could keep an eye for him on any event happened in Italy and to watch out for his family members there. He already received news regarding Lambo and also Gokudera which seemed eager to meet him again. Byakuran had not told him Tsuna's location yet. It seemed that the Gesso still had fun in teasing the silver haired. He let Byakuran to approach Spanner and Irie. After all he had better understanding on technology than Tsuna, so he could think for a better way to approach them.

The marshmallow lover kept in contact with Tsuna and often sent messages to Tsuna. He sometimes also tried to ask for more details on Tsuna's conditions which of course were ignored. Mukuro seemed to have stopped killing for a moment. He seemed to think about Tsuna's words or he was just in the middle of scheming something or just became more cautious. Whatever the reasons were, Tsuna just happy that the killing stopped.

Another thing on his mind was how to approach a certain girl. No, she was not his crush or something. The girl was his future, soon-to-be mist guardian, Chrome Dokuro or it was Nagi at this time. The girl lived in another town and did not really socialize. Tsuna was not sure how to plan their 'first' meeting. Tsuna wanted to get her out from her loneliness fast, but he did not know the best way. He already got her daily schedule from Kawahira. Stalker much, huh? Tsuna had decided that he would give the girl a visit on this weekend. He would just really watch from now and perhaps winged something for impromptu introduction. Right now Tsuna just needed to wait for tomorrow to come and sleep was the best way to wait for tomorrow to come, so sleep he would do.

* * *

It was dark but he was not afraid. Since the first time he arrived at this place, he knew where he was or where he was supposed to be. He had come here several times before at least in his old time. He was sure that this was not any different. He just hoped that the other could not search through his memories or feelings. He walked through the dark. His steps were certain. He seemed to know where he went despite the darkness.

It seemed his feeling once again was right. After a few minutes walking, he arrived at a meadow. There was a lake and someone was sitting under a big tree on the lakeside. He knew who that person was. He just did not think he would meet him this sooner. He approached the person with silent steps, but he knew the other person had known his presence there since the beginning.

"Nice scenery you have here, Mukuro," greeted the brunet.

"It seems you surprised me again, Tsunayoshi-kun. How did you even end up here?" the illusionist replied back without even turning back. Tsuna shrugged even though the other boy did not look at him.

"I don't know. I just go to sleep and then here I am," answered Tsuna.

"And yet you don't seem surprise. You seem like you have visited this place several times. You already familiar with this place," The purple haired boy finally turned and faced the smaller boy. His eyes narrowed in suspicions at the brunet while the said brunet just shrugged again.

"It's just there are not many things can surprise me anymore." The illusionist raised his eyebrow at that. "So how's life?" asked Tsuna to start a conversation. "Have you followed my advices?" asked him again.

"Kufufufu…. Nothing much happened. Just usual things." Mukuro answered with his creepy smile. He did not answer the second questions nor did he ask Tsuna's condition back, instead he immediately went to a serious topic. "So, what do you know about mafia or flames?"

"Mafia you say? It's just a really dark place to be. And flames… they are gifts which at the same time can be a curse." The answers did not really answer Mukuro's question. "I just know enough to not let me living indifferently as civilian however how much I wish I can stay ignorant," added the brunet.

"Then what do you think of destroying the mafia world? Aren't mafias really corrupt and shouldn't even exist as it only brings more despair? So what about killing those scums?" Mukuro asked with a smirk. It seemed he got a new plan on his head. Hearing his words, Tsuna let out a sigh.

"Mukuro," Tsuna started, his voice sounded like a parent in the middle of chiding his son. Mukuro held back a flinch. "Isn't the world itself is corrupt? So do you want to destroy the world too? Corruption is there in every part of society. If your means of destroying is by killing, then how many people are you going to kill?" Mukuro opened his mouth to answer, but he could not find the best words to answer the question.

"Then rather than destroying why don't you change it? I, myself, have a mind to change the mafia. It's too optimistic, you say? Too Idealistic? Impossible? Naïve? I don't care. You won't know until you try. After all if there is a will, there is a way, they say. Even realistic person has their own ideals, ideas, and hopes to go on while idealist person still needs to face the reality too. By killing everyone doesn't it mean that you just don't want to face the reality?" Tsuna stared Mukuro right on the eyes. Mukuro could see that the brunet was serious and got big resolve. They stared at each other in silence, neither wanted to avert their eyes in this mini stare competition.

"Fu.. Ku Fu FUFUFU…" Finally the silence was broken by a laugh. Mukuro laughed hysterically. His laugh got louder and louder while Tsuna stayed in silent. But after a while, Tsuna got annoyed with the laugh.

"What's so funny, Mukuro?" asked Tsuna getting irritated.

"Fufufu.. It's you Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna raised his eyebrow, questioning Mukuro's statement. "You are so funny. You have really big dream there. Kufufu, really, such a naïve dream. Haven't you seen the real big bad world yet, kid?" Despite his mocking words, Mukuro knew that the other boy had seen the darker side of the world. He could see it from his gaze and acts which was always cautious and on alert. Mukuro knew that the boy could fight. The knowledge of dying will flames itself had explicitly told the boy's affiliation with the big shot in mafia. The question was how the boy could still have such a naïve dream. Had not he seen enough brutality and violence? Had not he seen the extent of what the mafia could and would do?

Tsuna did not answer for he knew that Mukuro already could see the answer. Tsuna just stared at him.

"Well, aren't you an interesting one? So what's your plan?" asked the heterochromatic eyed boy. Tsuna shrugged.

"If you think so." Tsuna felt his intuition tingling, telling him that he would go soon, then a playful smile arose on his face. "Plan, huh? It's for me to know and for you to find out. However, I'm sure it's better than what's on your mind. Now, please excuse me. I gotta meet your soon-to-be little sister. If you want to meet her, just look hard enough for mist flames that synchronize with yours. Ah, and if you're looking for an apprentice, perhaps you can look in France. Ciao~"

Tsuna left the dream realm leaving the illusionist in wonder. The parting words had succeeded in picking the illusionist's interest. It seemed Tsuna really liked to have the last words in a conversation and leave people in wonder.

* * *

It had been two hours since Tsuna got out from the subway. He had been walking around, trying to find a certain girl. He looked at the list of places he already made before with the help of Kawahira and then looked at a map of the city. He had already visited several places but still had no result. The list had reached an end. No more places on the list. Just his luck that this day the girl decided to stray away from her usual schedule. Tsuna had even visited her house only to find it was empty.

Tsuna let out a sigh. It was not as easy as he thought. He thought that he could find the girl on the way by chance. Then just let it flow from there. Unfortunately, his thought was wrong. Two hours had passed and he had not even seen a glimpse of the girl. Sadly, his so-called hyper intuition did not work as a GPS or tracker. It would only guide him at the time of danger or crisis, and at time like this it would not really cooperate. He hoped that his intuition would help him in finding the right way to find the girl. Now, his feet ached, not that he could not bear it but he just tired of walking around without real destination. He was also getting really thirsty.

Tsuna went to the vending machine and bought a bottle of orange juice. Then he went to the park nearby and sat on one of the benches. He needed a break. He opened the bottle and gulped down the liquid. The cool liquid went down his throat, wetting his dry throat. It felt like a piece of heaven in earth. He did not realize that he was really thirsty. Too focused on his drink, Tsuna did not realize that someone approach him. A sudden call startled him, making him choked on his drink.

"Mama, I found him. Look, it is him, isn't it? I'm doing a good job, right Mama?" A cheerful voice was heard right beside Tsuna. It was a young girl voice. She was speaking in Italian. The girl looked at her mother, asking for confirmation as she also compared the picture she had to the boy in front of her. Tsuna coughed as he was chocked on his juice.

"Yup, it is him, dear. You did great job, but you startled him," an older woman said with a smile. She let out a chuckle. Hearing the conversation, Tsuna turned to them after succeeded in calming his coughs. Seeing them, his eyes widened. "Now, apologize to him, dear."

The little girl pouted, but then still apologized, while Tsuna just stayed silent and stared. He was looking for a certain girl, but obviously this little girl was not who he wanted to meet today. He did not even plan to meet this little girl or her mother, at least not yet. But here they were, seemed like they were looking for him. How did they even know him? They were not supposed to know him yet.

"Sorry to startle you," the girl apologized in Italian. Due to the shock, Tsuna did not immediately reply. He just stared. The girl tilted her head, thinking. Then her eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah, he doesn't understand Italian, Mama?" She looked at his mother then turned back to the older boy. "I'm sorry to startle you," she switched to Japanese which still a little bit stiff. "I'm Yuni and this is my mother. Nice to meet you," the girl smiled brightly. Tsuna finally broke off from his shock.

"Ah, nice to meet you too, Yuni. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi and actually I can speak Italian. It's okay if you want to speak Italian," Tsuna smiled warmly. Yuni proceeded to take a seat on his left while her mother sat on his right. Then he averted his attention to the adult. "And, nice to meet you Aria-san, what brings you here?"

"Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun," the woman greeted back with warm smile. "I just need to confirm something," answered her.

"So, have you confirmed it?" Tsuna asked again. The smile on her face dimmed.

"Yes, I have." She got a forlorn expression on her face. "I'm sorr-" she was cut off.

"Not your fault." The brunet said in understanding. He did not want to hear her apologize.

"I wish you the best of luck, Tsunayoshi-kun," she said with a sad smile.

The sad atmosphere was broken off by a giggle. Yuni was giggling as she was playing at the brunet's spiky hair. Tsuna turned to the girl. He did not realize that the girl had been playing with his hair.

"It's like the lion's mane and it's so fluffy," The girl then buried her face into his hair and rubbed her face on the hair as she also hugged his arm. It made Tsuna blushed slightly but he just chuckled softly. He was glad that there was something to distract the girl from the conversation he was about to have with her mother.

"So, I take it she doesn't know about me." It was spoken out as a statement rather than a question. He switched to Japanese in hope that Yuni had not been really fluent in Japanese. Aria nodded. "So what do you know?" asked Tsuna again.

"Not much. I have some vision. The Tri-ni-sette told me something and Checkerface came to me. I just know who you are and that you are here to protect your family. And for sure you have gone through hardship in life in which you must do several sacrifices. This time, too. A price must be paid and you have something to do with the payment, don't you? I come here to tell you that you can ask for my help or just talk to me. You've got a friend in me. My family will also help you. As for the rest of the rainbow, I will not tell them not without your permission. I haven't even met them yet."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Tsuna gave a thankful smile. "By the way, do you even tell Gamma and others that you are in Japan."

Aria just smiled, but the smile answered his question. Tsuna sweatdropped. From her smile Tsuna knew that the boss of Giglio Nero just ran away without telling her subordinates. He bet she also had not told them about her daughter yet. Her smile also made Tsuna afraid to make any comment so he just replied with a nervous smile.

Tsuna suddenly felt a hand on his neck, near his collarbone. He looked down and found a small hand holding his necklace chain and wanted to pull out the pendant from behind his shirt. In reflect he grabbed the hand.

"Eh?" Yuni was surprised. She looked up to the brunet. "I want to see the pendant. Can I? I feel something pull me to see it. Soooo~ can I see it?" She batted her eyelashes and widened her eyes. She gave him a puppy-eyes look.

Tsuna felt a little bit surprised that even though the pendant had been covered in mammon chains, the young Yuni could still feel something. Tsuna would not let her touch it. He knew the consequences. She would remember and he did not really want her to know. He already said it before that he did not want another person remembered. It was enough that it was only him, Byakuran, Kawahira, Giotto, and now Aria also knew to some extent. Yuni and the others deserved their childhood. They did not need to be burdened so young by memories.

Tsuna then took a glance at Aria, hoping that she would help him distract Yuni or refusing her. The woman got his message. She smiled sadly and then cleared her throat.

"Yuni, dear," she called her daughter, making her turn to her, "don't bug him. It must be something really precious and private for him. Haven't I told you about privacy?" Aria chided her daughter softly. The happy expression on the girl's face fell and turned to a small frown. She then looked at Tsuna.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to." Tsuna replied with a soft smile and he ruffled the girl's hair.

"It's okay, Yuni." The frown now turned to a pout – or was it a pout all this time? - and Yuni murmured some words which sounded like 'still, I'm curious' which made Tsuna chuckled.

"Now who want ice cream?" asked Aria to avert the topic of the necklace and also to cheer her daughter. Her plan succeeded for after hearing the word ice cream, Yuni immediately whip her head to her mother with sparkling eyes and wide smile. She jumped to her feet in excitement.

"Me, me, me," she said excitedly, glanced to Tsuna then answered for him, "and of course him, and also Mama. Everyone loves ice cream."

Aria stood up, "So what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Yeah, let's go." Yuni turned to Tsuna, gave him a big wide smile, took his hand, and dragged him. The smile reminded Tsuna of his resolve and determination. He would protect that smile. He squeezed Yuni's hand. Warm. He would also protect that warmth. The last time he held the girl's hand it was so cold for the girl was slowly dying on his arms. Now, he would not let it happened again. His eyes darkened for a second but then it turned amber in resolve.

* * *

She walked aimlessly for hours. She did not want to go home, no it wasn't a home. That place could not be call as home. It was just a place for her to stay, sleep, and also to keep living. Was she even living? She was just a puppet for her parents, wasn't she? Or perhaps it was her parents wish for they thought of her as a mistake and burden so they hoped that they could steer her life, control her actions as they wish to prevent more mistakes. She became pretty display to be shown to her parents' colleagues. Even in her young life, she was tired of living – no, it was not about living, she did not even know what living meant. She had not been living her own life.

Today, she heard another insults, another mockery, another rude words, another taunts. It was usual in her daily life. She received those hurtful words both in school and in her house. She was an outcast in school. She was meek and quiet. She did not know how to interact with others, how to make friends. She was bullied. Her classmates called her names, dumped their tasks to her, and pranked her. Their words lower her self-esteem. They hurt her. However, they were not as painful as pain inflicted by people you cared about. She could care less for words from stranger but words from her own parents? It hurts hundreds times more.

Her mother said she was a mistake. Her step-father said she was a burden. She was unwanted. Her mother made it clear to her. She probably would disown her in near future. Just a few hours ago, she was slapped by her own mother. All because of she wanted to be helpful by cleaning her mother's favorite vase. Her mother's words rang in her head.

"YOU! What are you thinking? You can't touch this vase with your dirty hands. Don't you know that this is really precious? It is worth more than your pitiful life," she scoffed, "you don't even supposed to live. A big mistake on my life. Bear this in your mind, you are here only to help me keep appearance to my colleagues. So don't do things that would make me want to disown you more. Don't be more a disgrace to me, you ungrateful brat. Now, scram. I don't want see you anymore, I have enough for today. Your _unwanted_ presence will only annoy me." With those words the mother left and the daughter ran outside. She got enough of hurt words and unfair treatment from her own mother for today.

Her feet started to ache, but at least the ache helped her to ease the pain in her heart. It helped her in diverting her focus to the physical pain. Her stomach then decided to voice out their protest. She started feeling hungry. She rubbed her stomach, a gesture to calm her stomach. She then looked up. She looked at her surrounding, checking where her feet had brought her during her aimless walk.

Fortunately, she still recognized the surrounding as her neighborhood. It was only several blocks from her house. It seemed that she just walked circling certain area. She then looked around for food stands or any store that sell foods. She wanted some snacks. She scanned the surroundings. There were several food stands nearby. There was takoyaki and okonomiyaki stand. The smell was really delicious, making her gulped. However, there was something else that caught her eyes. It was an ice cream stand, no, it was not the stand itself. To be exact, it was the people in front of it.

It seemed they were family which consisted of mother, big brother, and young sister. The father was not seen. But still, each of them was smiling. The little sister talked excitedly to the big brother while in between she would lick her ice cream. The big brother listened and focused on her and added several input. He still waited for his ice cream. The mother watched them with soft smile full of love, like she was content with the situation, content and happy with each other.

The scene made her jealous. She longed to be in that kind of scene. She pictured her in that kind of situation. She longed for her mother's love. She waited for the time where her mother would smile sincerely and with love to her. She knew that it was a fruitless dream. She would not be able to act in that kind of scene in this stage she called life. Yes, she could get her mother smile at her lovingly in front of her mother colleagues, but it was not sincere, those feelings were fakes. She could feel that her eyes got teary.

Just when she was about to turn away from the scene, her eyes met the big brother's. His smile fell for a second, before it returned with a warmer and softer one. She felt that the smile was directed to her. But it couldn't be, right? Why that boy gave her smile like that? She averted her gaze. She did not how to respond. She could not smile like that. She did not know the feeling to create that kind of smile.

She was lost in her thoughts so she did not see that the boy already walked to her, leaving the younger girl and her mother behind with a promise to come back. She only realized the boy's presence when he greeted her.

"Um, hey," greeted the boy, startling her. She looked up to see warm brown eyes stared at her own. She was uncomfortable with meeting other person's gaze right on the eyes, but something in the boy's eyes made her did not want to look away. The boy seemed to be able to know her and understand her just from the gaze.

"..a..he-hey.." she replied meekly. The boy smile's got wider.

"I see you're looking at the ice cream parlor and you seem hungry. Do you want some?" Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the ice cream stand. "By the way I'm Tsuna. What's your name?" He threw another smile to her.

"…gi.. o.."

"What was that? I didn't catch it. Mind to repeat it?" asked the boy kindly.

"J-just.. c-call m-me Nagi," she stuttered out her name.

"Nice to meet you Nagi," They reached the ice cream parlor. In front of it, stood the mother-daughter duo. The boy started to introduce her to them.

"Nagi, this is Aria and her daughter Yuni. They are a part of my big family. Aria-san, Yuni, this is Nagi, my new friend," Tsuna introduced them to each other and they exchanged pleasantry as new acquitance. Nagi was taken aback by his words. Her speculation was wrong. He was not in the nuclear family of the other two female. But, his last word shocked her more. Friend? It was ridiculous, they just met. The brunet boy just greeted her and then he considered her as his friend.

"Ah, Yuni! Is that my ice cream you are eating?" The said girl smiled sheepishly.

"Because you're gone and the ice cream starts to melt. So what am I supposed to do?" Tsuna let out an exasperated sigh.

The oldest in there let out a chuckle. "Just buy another one for you and for your friend Tsunayoshi-kun. You can't make the lady wait." Tsuna turned to look at Aria. Her gaze was asking something and he nodded both in answer to her spoken statement and her unspoken question.

Then Nagi was forced to choose ice cream flavor for her. She then included to conversation by both the boy and the younger girl, even the woman sometime asked her questions. Nagi was lost. She felt confused at the situation. It was weird and unreal. She just suddenly invited by a stranger to join their conversation. They bought her ice cream and included her in their conversation. The stranger also claimed her as his new friend. Odd, but not unwelcome. She also felt warm and started to give hesitant smile.

They talked and talked. They walked around the town with Nagi as their tour guide. Aria treated them more food. By sunset, the two Italian and Tsuna had succeeded in making the girl smile more sincerely, let out a small laugh, giggle, and voiced several opinions. Unfortunately, sunset meant they had to part ways.

"Nagi, it's nice talking to you, but we must go home. And because it starts to get dark, I'll escort you home," Tsuna said with reassuring smile. Hearing the word 'home', the said girl flinched. Seeing her reaction, the other three knew they touched a sensitive topic for her.

"..don't… want.. home.." the girl muttered so soft that the other could only catch several words.

"What was it once again, Nagi?" asked Tsuna calmly.

The girl mustered her courage and said it louder but she looked at the ground, "I said I don't want to go home. It can't even be called home." The words made Tsuna smiled sadly in understanding.

"Then if you want, you can go home with me," replied Tsuna, making the girl to look at him immediately. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Or you can go home with me. I think Yuni needs friend to play dollhouse with," added Aria.

"I promise that ours will be better than your old one and if you like it you can stay as long as you like," assured the only boy there. Then as an afterthought he added, "and I think it's better you go to Aria-san's than mine for there you can play with Yuni and have female friend. After all I'm a boy and cannot really connect to you like girls do with each other."

Nagi was shocked with the offer. She stayed silent for a moment, trying to digest the offers. Just earlier today, she felt really unwanted, then now she received two offers, asking for her presence in their house. She knew that she was supposed to feel warier with the situation, for they were practically stranger with each other. They just knew each other for few hours and they offered her semi-permanent lodging. She could read the situation. She knew that they meant for her to stay and leave her old house behind to start a new life with them.

She thought for a few more minutes before giving her answer. She looked to the three, gave them a determined smile and nodded, "'kay then, I'll go with Aria-san."

After all, in the near future her mother would probably disown her, so why not she was the one that made the first move by cutting their relation this instant. She would help that woman she called mother by going away and she would also get a new home. So it was a win-win solution.

The answer made the other three happy. Yuni immediately threw herself to Nagi and hugged her with a happy squeal. Behind her, a silent conversation happened between the brunet boy and the only adult there. They talked with their eyes and subtle body gesture.

_'__Protect her for me. Give her love._'

'_I will, Tsunayoshi-kun. You have my words.'_

Tsuna let the Giglio took care of his future mist guardian. He was aware that Aria would bring her to Italy, but there she would be protected and also be taught many things to protect herself in the future. They would stay in Japan for a few more days to give time for Aria to prepare whatever documents needed. With Aria connections, it would not be long. Tsuna was sure that by next morning everything would be ready.

Tsuna walked to Nagi and patted her head. He gave her his warm smile which promised that everything would be alright. Nagi peeled off Yuni from her body slowly. Then she got closer to Tsuna and to Tsuna's surprise she kissed him on his cheek, just like long time ago, the real first time Tsuna met one Chrome Dokuro.

"Thank you," whispered the girl. Tsuna blushed slightly. All this time he still got flustered over small things.

"Don't mention it," he replied. "Now, I think I have to go. You can go with Aria-san and Yuni. Oh, don't forget to keep in contact." Tsuna gave a somewhat-bordering-awkward hug to the three female then bid his goodbye.

As he walked away he gave last parting words to Nagi for he knew he would not meet her physically for several years. "And Nagi, look forward to your dream tonight. Perhaps you'll get idea for your new name and identity."

That night, Nagi met a male with pineapple hair and creepy laugh which muttered "Are you the one he said to be my future sister?" in her dream. The very next morning, Nagi was dead, she was reborn as Chrome Dokuro.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Long time no see~ So here is the new chapter. I'm sorry that there is no real moving plot in this chapter. By the way by next chapter I'll do time skip and go to the time when Reborn come. *If I don't change my mind in the middle of writing hahaha***

**And this chapter, actually went out of my control. Aria just suddenly made appearance, and Tsuna suddenly met Mukuro in his dreams. I don't even know how those things happened. Hopefully this chapter could satisfy you, oh dear readers ^0^**

**And I got another ideas for a new story. Because of recently I got back to reading Bleach, I'm thinking of doing KHR x Bleach crossovers, but still don't know what will come out of it. Okay just saying it. Hahaha**

**and please is there any Beta-reader out there willing to Beta my story? *puppy-eyes* Please feel free to PM me.**

**'Kay then, see you later**


	12. The Start

_Ring… Ring…._

The ringing of telephone broke off the silence in the room. A man - the only person in the room - put down his pen. He let out a relief sigh, glad to get a break after hours of doing paperwork. He reached out to the phone and picked it up. He made a sound of acknowledgement to let the other on the other end of the line speak their purpose.

"Si, let him in," the man said then hung up the phone. He put aside the papers in front of him to the corner of the table. He reached to one of the drawer on the right side of the table. He turned the key in – the one he hid in one of the hidden section on his cane - pulled the drawer out, and picked out a folder. He put the folder on top of the table, stared at it, and let out a big sigh. It seemed he would indirectly make a decision on someone else's life. Again. He was too old for this and he would decree someone too young for his position right now. A heavy burden of responsibilities put on teenager's shoulders.

His musing was disrupted by a knock. The person behind the door did not wait for his permission and just invited themselves in. The man did not mind it for he already knew who it was. He put his warm smile and greeted his guest.

"Reborn, my dear friend, glad to see you again." The newcomer gave a slight nod in respect.

"It is my pleasure, Nono." Reborn then walked closer as the Vongola Nono gestured him to come closer. The infant jumped to the chair in front of the table. He then observed the man in front of him.

The man looked tired and seemed like he was getting older in the time they did not meet each other. It also seemed that the man just reached a hard decision which he did not really like. Reborn noticed the folder on the table and he knew that his presence in the room had something to do with that folder.

"My friend, Reborn, I need a favor from you," said the ninth leader of Vongola, going straight to the point. Reborn stayed silent for he knew the man would elaborate himself. Nono then pushed the folder to Reborn, giving permission to Reborn to open it.

"Here, my friend, lays the information on the heir of Vongola. I need you to raise him to become a person able to hold the position of Vongola Decimo. I know what you've done to the Cavallone and it is really amazing. I know that my heir will be on good hand under your tutelage."

The hitman looked at the Don of Vongola in the eyes, searching for confirmation. Seeing the resolve in the man eyes, he knew that the man had reached the decision. The Ninth had decided on his heir, the Vongola Decimo.

Reborn reached to the folder with his small hands. He opened the folder and scanned the information inside.

_Sawada Tsunayoshi_. _Dame-Tsuna by classmates. 13 years old._ _Namimori Middle School. Only had several friends. Grades were average. Did not have special talents. Clumsy. Claimed to be no good at everything. There was only general information on him._

'Che', the hitman scowled internally at the lack of information. It was really general. It seemed that he needed to make his own research and did more observation. However, despite the lack of information, he got a feeling that the boy would be a good enterta-student. The hitman nodded. He could work with this boy. He would have fun tor-tutoring this boy. A glint of sadistic though showed on his eyes.

"Okay, I'll do it." Reborn voiced out his agreement. The other man smiled hearing his answer.

"Everything has been prepared for you." The hitman nodded then jumped down from the chair. He turned and walked to the door but then stopped, pushed down his fedora, and voiced some thoughts.

"Ah, Nono. I heard some rats have been running around in the manor. Don't you think you need to take care more of your household?" The man in charge of Vongola let out a chuckle in reply, but dark shadows filled his eyes.

"Ah, I see, it seems my old age has caught up with me. I was too reckless," he tilted his head, seeming that he was listening to something. "Ah and it seems, one of the rats is looking for food around here. Would you mind to take care of that one, Reborn? I'll take care the rest, after all I don't want to bother you anymore than I already have. Oh and please, not too much damage."

The sadistic gleams came back to the black beads. "Of course, Nono. With pleasure." The baby then walked out of the room, leaving the man alone with his thoughts. Several minutes later, screams were heard across the manor. The ninth of Vongola just decreed another man's life to its end.

The ninth of Vongola let out another sigh. Just in a span of half an hour he already sighed so many times. He was afraid that he would go old faster if he kept let out a sigh like this. Ah, he really needed to retire. Too many souls already on his for him to keep moving on.

* * *

Smoke from the cigars and the smell of alcohols filled up the room. There were only several people on the bar but still it was lived up with conversation and laugh. However the conversation stilled when a certain person put down his drink and stood up from his seat. He pushed down his fedora and petted his chameleon. He then walked toward the door. All the people there knew that he would go to his next mission and they were a little bit curious on what the next mission of the greatest hitman in the world would be.

A main said from his seat, "Looks like you were called by the old man again."

The man beside him added, "Must be tough being popular, huh? Going to Roma next? Venice?"

The said greatest hitman held his step and answered with one word. "Giappone."

The answer shocked the people and created a ruckus. A surprise shouted came out from all the room. "WHAT!"

"The old man must have finally made up his mind." One man voiced out the thoughts of the rest of the people in the room.

The newly appointed tutor just smirked under his fedora. "Looks like it's going to be a long journey." The statement was agreed by the chameleon as it stuck out its tongue a few times then it snuggled to the fedora and found the best position to sleep. He paused for another few moments before finally out of the bar, leaving the surprised and excited crowd behind him.

* * *

A brunet was checking out his phone and let out a sigh. He then put back his phone to his pocket.

"It's already the time, isn't it?" he muttered. He turned his body to look at the other two men. He met their eyes respectively, sending them the message and gave a nod.

The blond man walked to the brunet, crouched to see the brunet at the eye and clasped his left hand on the brunet's right shoulder while his right hand patted the brunet's head. A reassuring smile was on his face as he spoke, "Good luck, Decimo." The brunet replied with a hesitant smile that showed his worries. The blond man gave another squeeze on the brunet's shoulder before he stood up.

The white haired man who just saw the scene in front of him, finally voiced out of his thoughts. "So, it seems that tomorrow you won't come to my store, huh? Ah, I'll miss the help on the store. Should I look for a part-timer?"

The brunet rolled his eyes. "Shut it Kawahira-jisan. Like you have customers or even sell something."

Kawahira let out a chuckle, "But it is still important to keep up an appearance, Tsuna-kun. It gives me background and alibi." The man pushed up his glasses, making it glinted from the light. "Ah, then I'll also move out from the store," added him with a disarming smile.

Silence. Few seconds passed before, "Ehhh?" exclaimed the brunet.

"The store's too far from my favorite ramen shop." He reasoned with a serious tone, making both the brunet and the blond sweatdropped. "Don't worry, you know where my new residence is. Remember the Kawahira Realtor? Yup, there. So feel free to visit me, though be sure to shake off the Sun Arcobaleno first," he ended with another innocent smile.

"Geez, you and your ramen, old man," commented Tsuna as he shook his head in exasperation.

"So, what's your next step Tsuna?" asked the blond man, making the conversation become serious again.

Tsuna shrugged and let out another sigh, "I don't really know, Giotto. I have altered many things from my original timeline. My past actions have created a lot of possible alternate futures. There is also a possibility that several things happened in my past timeline won't happen now. I don't know what will happen next and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the events that are supposed to happen and that may still happen."

"The Ring Conflict," said Giotto. The brunet nodded in reply.

"And Shimon." The brunet nodded again.

"And the curse." Another nod.

"And Dying Will bullets." Kawahira put his input.

"Yeah… and Reborn," Tsuna finished. It was not that he wasn't happy to see the sun arcobaleno slash his tutor. It was just it brought memories, both bad and good. Reborn also would make things a little bit complicated. With Reborn's arrival, it would make Tsuna's position in the mafia world official. It meant he would be an open target. There would be more fights.

Tsuna did not know what to do with Reborn. He could not hide the secret from Reborn for long. Tsuna was good at keeping important secret but not _that_ good. He could slip out something accidentally or do something suspicious enough to attract Reborn's attention.

"Ah, you should avoid dying will bullets. Remember what Talbot said. Those bullets may create some complications with your body and your flames. It may makes you burst out like balloon with too much helium in it." Kawahira said.

Tsuna grimaced. "I know that already. But what I need to do to show that I have access to my flame? I can't go suddenly to Hyper mode, it will make him really suspicious. The dying will pills are okay. But Reborn will only give it to me after he is sure that I can access my flame and after raining. And for starter he will try to shoot it at me, each chance he has."

"Shall I make a near-dying event for you, Tsuna-kun? It will give you alibi and I don't want my hard work to make false profile on you just go to waste in a day. Like what I said before, we need to keep appearance," Kawahira said with a grin.

Tsuna's face turned pale. Kawahira's definition of 'near death experience' really should be questioned. "T-thank you Ji-san. I-I'll t-think about it," Tsuna stuttered his answer.

"Tsuna," called Giotto.

The brunet turned to the blond. "Ne, Gio-jii?"

"What will you do?" The blond asked the second time. Tsuna wanted to retort, saying that he already said that he did not know, but then decided against it after seeing his grandfather's expression. Giotto's stare was full of confident of him and warmth, like he knew for sure that deep inside Tsuna already knew the answer. The stare made him stayed silent, to stop and think for a moment, to look inside.

Tsuna took a deep breath before he finally answered. "I'll avoid the Dying Will Bullet as best as I can, if it looks like I won't find another way, then I'll take Kawahira's offer." A grimace appeared on his face, thinking about the pain he would be in if he agreed with Kawahira. Then he straightened his expression. "Ring conflicts shall still occur. It will give my guardians a tiny bit taste of what world they are going to join. However, I won't let Xanxus harms Nono and I also won't let Lambo get hurt again. And for Shimon I wil-"

Tsuna was cut off by the ringtone of his own phone. He looked at the ID caller and saw that it was his mom. "Sorry, I need to pick this up," he said. Both Kawahira and Giotto just nodded and let him answer the phone. Tsuna walked away from them to answer the phone.

"Moshi-moshi. Ne, kaa-san?" Tsuna said to the phone and waited for his mother's reply. The two adults in the room just observed Tsuna and his expression, trying to make out what the phone call about. Tsuna nodded and grimaced a little bit. He looked guilty. "Ne, Kaa-san. I'm sorry, don't worry. I'll go home soon. Bye."

Tsuna turned back his attention to the adults in the room. "Let's continue this conversation later. It's already late and my mother is getting worried." Then he bid his goodbye and left, leaving both ancient men behind.

"So it will start soon, huh?" asked Giotto, mostly to himself.

"No, Giotto-san," Kawahira chuckled, "it has already started."

* * *

The street of Namimori was deserted. No one sighted. Hiding in the shadows of the tree while sitting on its branch was an infant. Two beads of eyes observed the Sawada household. The infant waited for a moment, seemed to be in deep thought before he finally jumped down and walked to the house. He stopped in front of the mailbox and slipped a piece of paper inside. He pushed down his fedora to hide a smirk. Then in a blink he disappeared, back to the shadows.

Reborn had done his reconnaissance. He had made secret passages all over the town and also put some surveillance tools. Checked his soon-to-be student's background and compared it to the data he had from the Intel beforehand. But he needed to do close observation to make sure. He had a feeling that something was off with the data and he believed his gut feeling, after all he had been saved by his gut feeling so many times before. He had honed his instinct and intuition. It was one of his job descriptions as the best hitman.

The hitman's smirk widened when he saw the matriarch of Sawada household took the pamphlet from the mailbox and smiled when she read it. The woman bought it. Soon the best hitman would have another gullible young mind to be tortu-tutored. Ah, he could imagine how much fun he could have. Finally, more entertainment in life. He was getting bored of the easy kills he had done.

The baby let out a dark chuckle. Oh, the boy didn't know what would hit him soon. Or so he thought.

Uh-oh, Reborn, but the same could be said to you. No. It only applied to you. After all the boy had known, had experienced what was coming.

* * *

"Bye Mom!" shouted a brunet as he slammed the front door and ran to school. He overslept and only had about fifteen minutes left before the school started. Just as he got out from the house's gate, he felt a pair of eyes observing him and his clumsiness surfaced. The brunet stumbled and almost kissed the ground but he abled to stop it by reaching to the wall beside him. He forced himself to act natural. It had started. He would act carefully from now on. He would let Reborn saw some skill he had, so to skip some basic training. He did not want to be seen as hopeless and as useless as he was before.

Tsuna continued to run to school. He passed the school gate right when the bell rang, receiving a glare from the demon prefect. "I made it!" he shouted and paused to composed his breath then took a glance around. His eyes met the prefect. Oh shit! He forgot his appointment with the prefect. Moreover, he had ditched him also yesterday.

"HIIIEEE!" he shrieked seeing the glare. It was so easy to back to old habit of screaming his head off at every shock. Sometimes he did not even have to pretend.

"Morning, Hibari-san and I'm sorry. See you later!" The brunet took off, running again. The said prefect narrowed his eyes.

"Don't run! I'll bite you to death!" said the prefect as he took his tonfa.

The brunet who was already running, shouted his reply back, "But I'll be more late then, Hibari-san! Please use your logic, Hibari-san." Sadly, the answer only made the demon angrier. Hibari chased the brunet with a new fervor.

"HIEEEEEE!" screamed the brunet again seeing the prefect behind him gaining speed. The brunet also tried to add his speed. He had to reach the class for it was the only safe place. The prefect would not disrupt the class as it would make him crowding and breaking rule at the same time. Several minutes later, he reached the class and opened the door and closed it again fast as he shouted "Safe!" All eyes in the room turned to him. A tension grew in the room.

Seeing that he became the center of attention, Tsuna stuttered, "A-a-a.. G-good m-mo-morning." Tsuna then walked but after a few seconds he stumbled, breaking the trance of the people in the room. The class broke in laughs.

"Dame-Tsuna strikes again," said one boy.

"Dame-Tsuna will always be dame," added another.

Tsuna ignored them and continued the walk to his seat. On the way, he was greeted by his friends, namely Takeshi, Hana and Kyoko. Tsuna could see that his friends wanted to stop the laugh, but Tsuna shook his head and gave a small smile.

When Tsuna sat down, the door opened again. This time, it was Nezu who was at the door. It seemed another 'lecture' of how to be 'elite' would be his lullaby to sleep. He hid his face behind his book and closed his eyes, all the time aware of the pair of eyes observing him.

* * *

A smirk appeared on Reborn's face again. He had gathered some information on the brunet and his friends. It seemed the boy had gathered good and loyal friends. They could be classified as 'Family' material. Some of them seemed to be able to fight to some extent. Heck, the brunet even made acquaintance with the so-called demon prefect of Namimori. They even ate lunch together after they sparred. Oh, it seemed the boy had more potential than he seemed. Sure the boy was clumsy, but he also could be graceful and even deadly if he wanted. Reborn saw it on the way the brunet's fight.

The Intel was really a fool. Why they didn't include this kind of information? They were really useless. Did Vongola hire E-class spies? Reborn scoffed. Yes, the information gathering on the boy was disguised as something else to protect the heir's identity. But, did they use a really silly or stupid cover story to make the spy underestimated their job? Reborn needed to talk to Nono and that no-good CEDEF's head.

Reborn immediately burned the data and decided to only believe his own observations. Still, how the boy could be this good? Reborn did not like not knowing. He wanted answers and what he wanted he would get it. And the brunet would give him the answers.

* * *

Tsuna really needed a good sleep. Hibari went all out today. He fought him at lunch break and fought him again after school. Later on, Ryohei also demanded a match and Takeshi also wanted to join the fun. Fortunately, Tsuna could shift Hibari's ire to Takeshi and Ryohei and he able to slip out from the fight and go home. He almost felt sorry to those two school athletes, but he already had enough for the day. He still needed to have his first meeting with Reborn at home and he knew it would also drain his energy. He did not want to run out of energy and risked another break down.

Tsuna knew that Reborn watched the fight and he let him. This way he could use Hibari, Takeshi and Ryohei as an excuse to his skill to fight. If Tsuna gave Reborn some answers, he would not really dig deep. After all he would not expect his innocent-civilian student to not tell the truth, would he?

"I'm home," Tsuna said to the house and immediately welcomed by his mother.

"Oh, Tsu-kun, welcome home," greeted Nana with a smile. "You looked tired, please take a bath and change your clothes. Then let's have diner."

Tsuna mumbled his agreement to the idea and went upstairs. Nana went back to kitchen as she hummed. "Ara, I forget to tell him about the tutor. Ah, but he would meet him soon." Then she resumed preparing dinner.

Tsuna went upstairs as he wondered when Reborn would finally decide to show himself. Just as he was about to open the door to his bedroom, his intuition warned him, making him stopped. Tsuna gulped. Ah, it seemed his question had been answered.

Tsuna took a deep breath before he opened the door. On his bed, an infant cladded in black had been waiting for him. Tsuna stared at him blankly. Black eyes stared back at him, seeming to search him thoroughly. Tsuna stayed silent.

Then, "Ciaossu~!" greeted the infant. A few seconds passed.

"HIEEEE!" Tsuna reacted with his usual reaction of shock. The infant blinked.

"Who are you? Why are you in my room? Are you lost?" Tsuna tried to project his shock.

"I'm Reborn. Your home tutor." Stated the tutor from hell.

"Eh?!"

"Dame-Tsuna, your mother hires me to tutor you to become a great leader. I'll help you to raise your average grade." Tsuna blinked. "However, my true line of work is assassination. I'm a hitman an my true job is to raise you to be a great mafia boss of Vongola." The hitman brought out his gun to make his point. Tsuna blinked again.

"Eh, aren't you too young to play with gun? And mafia? It's such a dangerous thing and it promotes violence. You shouldn't play that game. You'll only get hurt." Tsuna kept his act of obliviousness. It was easy for him, after all he learnt from the best. After all the years he lived with the most oblivious house wife in the world he started to pick up something on how to act oblivious like her.

Reborn was a proud man with big ego and treated like a child because of his cursed body by another man – boy – did not go well with his ego. He jumped to kick the boy. Unfortunately for Reborn, but fortunately for Tsuna, he missed. The best hitman in the world just missed a kick and the target was just a young, clumsy, dame boy. The brunet turned away from the hitman as he walked to the desk, pulled up a chair, and sat down in a way that he avoided the kick coincidentally or that what it seemed, while in fact, the brunet already knew how the hitman would react and made plan to avoid it.

"But me, a great mafia boss?" Tsuna let out a laugh with a tint of bitterness. Reborn, the great hitman he was, detected the sour and bitter tone. It made him stopped his next attempt to torture his new student. "I wonder if I can be great enough," Tsuna muttered so low to himself that even Reborn with his sharp hearing could not hear it.

"What was that?" asked Reborn. Tsuna shook his head and just scoffed.

"I'm just asking what's so great of me and how can I be a mafia boss," the brunet finished with a shrug.

The hitman did not answer immediately. He chose to stare and study his new student. The boy's reactions were not like what he expected. There went his first entertainment of this tutor-student relationship.

"Che." Reborn made a sound of annoyance before he pulled out a piece of paper with a family tree on it. He then started giving a short lecture on Vongola history and Tsuna's family relation with it.

"Say that I believe this ludicrous story of yours and indulge you by joining this game of mafia, why do you think I'll accept it after all it's a big responsibility to become a boss and I'm just a Dame-Tsuna? What if I don't want to become one?" Tsuna said after the explanation.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn started, "Who says you have a choice?" A gun appeared on the hitman's hand. He pointed it to the brunet's head. "And believe me that what I've explained to you is the truth. Those words of mine are fact, just like the fact that the bullet in this gun is a real bullet." As if to make his point clear, the hitman shifted his gun a bit then shot. The bullet passed right beside the boy's head, cutting a few strands of hair and then hitting the wall. However, the boy did not even flinch. Reborn narrowed his eyes at the reaction or rather the lack of it.

Tsuna just stared at the hitman. His eyes met Reborn's. A few moments passed in silent as they stared at each other before finally Tsuna let out a resigned sigh and broke they eye contact. He looked down and muttered, "I see." _Yes, it's true. I don't really have a choice, do I? For I have bigger responsibility than just a Vongola Decimo._

"'Kay then. I'll just go along with it." Tsuna gave his answer.

Reborn stared again, trying to decipher of who Sawada Tsunayoshi really was and made out of his weird and unexpected reactions. He wanted answers.

"Answer me, honestly." Tsuna raised his eyebrows at that. "What of your reaction? How you able to fight in par with Hibari? Do you _know_ about the mafia?" The baby stressed the word know, asking about Tsuna's real knowledge about the Cosa Nostra.

Tsuna shrugged. "I've met some Yakuzas. Similar kind, right? Just different territory. Time with Hibari, Takeshi, and Ryohei-niisan surely will teach me some skills to fight."

Truth. The boy spoke the truth. Or at least Reborn did not detect lies. However, he had feelings that the boy had omitted some things, or only just spoke half-truths.

"Is that all? If yes, then I want to take a shower, Kaa-san will finish preparing the dinner soon." Reborn nodded. Seeing the nod, Tsuna immediately took fresh clothes and went to the bathroom, leaving Reborn to analyse his observation of Tsuna in the short time he conversed with the boy.

Tsuna closed the door of the bathroom, closed the door and leaned his back to the door. His let out a big sigh and his eyes got hazy. He calmed his nerves for a few moments before he leaned his head back to the door and looked at the ceiling.

It was hard, harder than he thought. He clearly could not act like how he acted as a thirteen years old before. But it was better this way. If he showed Reborn his strength then may be Reborn would see his quick progress to Hyper Mode as a talent or a show of strength.

What made his situation harder was Reborn's presence. He made everything felt more real. With Reborn coming as his tutor, it would make his debut in the mafia official, though he had met the Tri-ni-sette administrator himself and had been trained by him since he was ten years old. The smells of blood and gun powder that lingered around Reborn – and that now he would be a constant presence nearby - also made everything harder. Giotto and Kawahira did not really have those kinds of smells for they were not taking part actively in mafia, in killing. The smells reminded him of his life as a mafia, of the death, the guilt, the pain, and the nightmare. Tsuna was sure that somehow his nightmare would be back sometime soon.

During these past years he had done many things to get over the nightmare or at least to not let the nighmare affect him. He would overwork his body so he would have dreamless sleep. He did some soothing rituals to help him sleep such as used aromatherapy incense and drank hot milk, hot tea, hot chocolate or whatever he was in the mood for, before sleep. Those things helped but sometimes the nightmare still invaded his sleep. At those times, he would wake up drenched in sweat and sometimes tears. Thankfully, most of the times Giotto would be there to soothe him.

Now for sure, the nightmare would haunt him more for there was a constant presence that reminded him of his sins and failures, though it also served as a reminder to his determination to make everything better. Unfortuntaely now with Reborn here, he had to keep his guard up and deal with his nightmare quietly. Giotto could not come to his aid anymore for it would alert Reborn. He only hoped that when Reborn found him woke up in the middle of the night in such messed up condition, he could dismiss it just as a simple nightmare and ask him to forget it.

* * *

The next morning Tsuna found himself stalked openly by the baby hitman. The boy acted like he was used to Reborn's presence. They walked in silence. Reborn was busy with his observation and thoughts on his new student, while the brunet just stayed silent because he was not in the mood for talk with his tutor.

They reached a crossroad where he almost bumped to Sasagawa Kyoko. "HIEE!" exclaimed Tsuna in shock for he was lost in his thoughts.

"Ah, ohayou Tsuna-kun!" greeted the girl. Before Tsuna was able to reply the greeting, the girl already shifted her attention to the baby.

"Kyaaa~ How cute! Is he your brother, Tsuna-kun? Why you never tell me that you have a brother, Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko gushed sweetly.

"Ciaossu~ My name's Reborn, I'm Dame-Tsuna's tuto'r. Nice to meet you," replied Reborn before Tsuna could speak.

"Kyaaa~" the girl squealed, "I'm Sasagawa Kyoko, nice to meet you," Kyoko introduced herself. Then she tilted her head, looking at the baby's attire with a question on her mind. "Why are you wearing a suit, Reborn-kun?"

"Because I'm in the mafia."

"Aaaa~ You're so cute, already roleplaying and cosplaying this young."

"I'm not roleplaying. I'm really an assassin."

"Awww~ You're really into your character, Reborn-kun. Who are you cosplaying to?"

"Myself. I am Reborn the best hitman in the world."

Tsuna who only watched the conversation going, finally decided it was the right time to intervene.

"Umm… Kyoko-chan, we should get going or we'll be late," said Tsuna.

"Ah, you're right, Tsuna-kun. But how about Reborn-kun? Shouldn't you walk him to kindergarten?"

"Umm, don't worry about him. He'll go with us to school. Umm.. He wants to see our school and meet my friends."

"Is that so?" Tsuna nodded while Reborn just looked at Tsuna. "Okay then, let's go, Tsuna-kun."

Reborn observed the two teens walked side by side. Tsuna seemed comfortable with the girl's company. They were already friends as Reborn saw them together at lunch in rooftop. Che! It seemed he could not use the bullet at the moment. His student seemed comfortable with his relation with the school idol and did not regret anything. Che! He just needed to look for another opportunity to use the bullet.

Tsuna and Kyoko made small talks during their walk. They did not realize that many watched their interaction, especially boys. The boys watched in envy to Tsuna for the wished to be in his place, to talk casually with the school idol. When they were about to crossed the gate, they were stopped by an upperclassmen.

"Kyoko-chan, can I talk with you in private?" said the senior.

Kyoko tilted her head, "What's wrong, senpai? Is it really important? 'Cause I'm in the middle of talking with my friend here."

The senpai nodded, "Yes it is and I think Dame-Tsuna won't mind if we leave him alone for a while. After all even useless person like him know not to interrupt something important, right?"

Tsuna ignored the insult. He did not even feel insulted by it. However, Kyoko was a different case. She felt insulted in behalf of her friends. Her eyes narrowed and she straightened her back. She stepped forward, tilted her head and smiled sweetly, too sweet if you asked.

"Senpai, I think I don't have time to talk with someone that can't respect my friend. I don't think it is important for **_me_**to talk to you. I'm sorry senpai but I lose my respect to you." Kyoko turned to Tsuna, "Let's go Tsuna-kun." Tsuna just shrugged and started to follow Kyoko lead, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Dame-Tsuna! It is your fault! I challenge you to a kendo match after school. The prize is Kyoko." Tsuna was blamed by the enraged boy while in fact he just kept quiet the whole time.

Tsuna sighed. 'Ah, it did happen again,' thought him. But still, he felt irritated. Kyoko was not an object. Tsuna opened his mouth to reply, but another voice beated him.

"Mochida-san," a cold and steely voice cut in. "First of all, it is not Tsuna-kun fault. Actually, it is yours for being a disrespectful person and a jerk. Second, I am not an object. Third, don't insult my friend again and last, don't approach me again unless it is a matter of life and death. Do you understand?" Kyoko stared coldly at her senior. There wasn't a trace of smile on her smile. The stare chilled Mochida, making him nodded his head in fear.

Kyoko grabbed Tsuna's hand and dragged him away, leaving Mochida and the spectactor in shock. It seemed this time, it was not Tsuna who gained a new image, but instead it was the school idol.

* * *

Reborn watched the whole spectacle from a tree. It seemed the girl had potential. "Hmm.. the boy surrounded by people with potential. Moreover those people seemed loyal to him," the baby said to himself. His thought then went to the other friends Tsuna had.

The other girl – Hana, his mind reminded him – was an intelligent girl and had sharp tongue. The boys had skills to fight. They even had preferable ways of fighting. Yamamoto was a swordsman and Reborn could sense that he was a natural-born hitman. Ryohei prefered his fists while Hibari of course loved his tonfas. Reborn knew the perfect person to add to the crowd and he already contacted that person.

Leon who sensed his owner's intention immediately crawled to the baby's hand and turned to a cellphone. Reborn dialed a series of number, then put the phone on his ear. He waited for the other person to pick the phone.

"Ciaossu," greeted Reborn when the other answered the call.

"Hello, Reborn-san," replied the person on the other side, "I'm sorry, I just landed, my plane got delayed. I'll come as soon as I can."

"Don't worry. Take your time. You can start school tomorrow. For now just regain your energy and get over your jetlag."

"Okay, Reborn-san."

"Hn. You got the photo, right?"

"Yes, though it is a little bit blurred"

"Then I'll send you a clearer one soon. Expect an email from me in an hour."

"_Si."_

"I expect great work from you, Smoking Bomb Hayato."

"I won't disappoint you and Vongola, Reborn-san."

The hitman cut off the connection and tipped his fedora down to hide his smirk. 'Just wait Dame-Tsuna, I'll get my fun with the dying will bullet,' the sadistic infant thought to himself.

At the same time, the phone call left the young Mafioso in a dilemma. The mission's detail said that he could be the tenth boss of Vongola if he killed the heir, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Years of experiences, especially the experience of being betrayed, taught Gokudera to see the whole picture and pick up the truth. He knew that if he killed the heir he would also be killed. He was just a pawn. The mission was only a test, both for the heir and for him. However, what concerned him was not the fact that he was only used – he was used to being used, so it was not a big deal – but it was the fact that he recognized that name. It was the name of the boy who saved him in Italy and asked him to take care of himself more.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was the first person who cared about him. Though the photo was blurred, Gokudera was sure that he was the same person as his savior. Even before he went to Japan, the marshmallow-freak hinted something and mentioned that Gokudera would finally meet his savior again. Then the freak gave him the address and information that he promised and it matched of his target.

Gokudera could not hurt his savior. It was bad enough that he hadn't give the brunet his name and on the short time they met, Gokudera also hadn't said his thanks nor showed appreciation and respect for what the brunet had done. He needed to apologize for his disrespectfulness and ignorance to the heir. The brunet had accepted him and he had a big heart. Gokudera knew even without the test that Sawada Tsunayoshi was the perfect person to be Vongola Decimo. He already thought Sawada Tsunayoshi as the Tenth. With that realization, Gokudera came to a decision.

"Wait for me, Jyuudaime. Your right hand-man is coming."

* * *

**A/N: **My attempt at doing Canon and looks where it goes... xD This chapter doesn't really cover a lot of things. It is just the start of Tsuna's life hahaha. It is really tiring of doing canon especially when there are already so many changes been made by Tsuna. Huft! So, I guess some meetings would be rushed hahaha.

Don't forget to leave a review ^0^ Thank you 3


	13. They are Coming

Tsuna almost came late to class because of Hibari. It was a little bit ironic, that the strict rule enforcer almost made someone break a rule. But of course it was okay, because he was Hibari. He was the rule.

The class was buzzing with conversation. The girls seemed so excited. Tsuna was so used to tune out the conversation so he just walked to his seat and threw his tired body to the chair then he put his head to the table.

"Morning Tsuna!" greeted Takeshi cheerfully.

"mmm-mornin" replied Tsuna, his voice was muffled by the table.

"Hibari?" asked Hana. Tsuna raised his head and stared blankly at Hana as if saying 'who else? don't ask if you already know' which Hana replied with a shrug.

"Tsuna-kun," chimed in Kyoko, "do you know that there will be a new student in our class? I heard it is a boy. I wonder what kind of a person he is." Just right after Kyoko finished her words the door opened loudly and came in Nezu with a silver haired boy. The class fell into silence for a moment before it turned noisy again as most of the girls squealed and whispered to each other.

Nezu had enough of the noise and slammed his books on the table. "Silence!" Nezu looked around the room. "Get back to your own seat!" ordered him.

After he saw everyone was seating on their right place, he cleared his throat. "Listen, we get a transfer student from Italy. His name is Gokudera Hayato. Gokudera-san, introduce yourself."

The said boy scowled, he did not like the class. It was so noisy and the girls were dumb. "Gokudera Hayato, from Italy. No question, I won't answer them." He then scanned the room, looking for his target. His eyes met the target and he immediately walked to his target, ignoring the teacher's words on his seating arrangement.

Tsuna just observed and waited to see what Gokudera would do next. He wondered how it would play out, would it still be the same or not. He wondered if Gokudera still remembered him from their accidental meeting in Italy. He met Gokudera's eyes and did not let go the stare even when Gokudera walked to him. He just smiled softly at Gokudera. Tsuna could feel many pairs of eyes watching him. He could even felt Reborn's stare. Hmm, he wished that he had camera near Reborn to see his expression. He knew that Reborn was in for a surprise.

Gokudera arrived in front of Tsuna. The class was in silence. Every pairs of eyes in the class watched them and held their breath, tense because of the confrontation that was about to happen. However, none expected what happened next. Gokudera gave a 90-degree bow to Tsuna.

"I apologize for my discourtesy before and also for my late apology. The marshmallow-freak doesn't let me go to search for you. Thank you for your kindness before. Now, I am here to become your right-hand, Jyuudaime."

Tsuna sweatdropped. Gokudera did not really know what inconspicuous and subtlety meant. Now, time to do damage control. "Ah, Gokudera-kun, it's okay. Let's talk on lunch break, okay? It seems that sensei wants to continue the lesson right now," Tsuna let out a nervous smile.

"I'm sorry to hinder your education, Jyuudaime!" the silver haired boy bowed down again and hurriedly went to an empty seat near Tsuna. It was official. Tsuna just got back his puppy.

The class broke out to whispers again.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Tenth?"

"Do Dame-Tsuna know the transfer student?"

"Why he talked like that to Dame-Tsuna?"

The class was finally back in order after Nezu asked for the class attention once again.

Tsuna could feel his three friends' stares. They were asking for explanation. He would give them the explanation. He sent them an 'I'll explain later' glance at them. Then, they turned back to the front, trying to get something useful from the nonsense talk Nezu was spouting in front of the class. However, he still felt one pair of eyes stared at him. This one more intense than his friends and Gokudera's. It was Reborn's. The hitman seemed upset that his plan did not go well and it seemed he wanted answer.

Reborn did not expect this. He expected the Smoking Bomb would rage on Dame-Tsuna and ranted about his incapacities to be Decimo. He expected the bomber to challenge Dame-Tsuna for the position. He expected Dame-Tsuna to cower and tried to run. He expected to use the Dying Will Bullet and had laugh on the embarrassment of his student. He expected confrontation and fight, not this. He did not even know what 'this' was. It seemed like reconciliation, like reunion. Gokudera seemed to have accepted Tsuna as Decimo and even declared himself as his right-hand man. Tsuna just accepted it, like he understood. Did they know each other beforehand? Something was missing. Reborn did not get the whole pieces of the puzzle. He did not like not able to see the whole picture.

Reborn was bound to know everything. It was just a matter of time. "Just wait Dame-Tsuna, I'll unravel all your secret." He channeled his anger through the glare to the back of Tsuna's head, making the said boy shivered.

Lunch break came and Tsuna was immediately surrounded by his friends, giving him no escape. They dragged him to the rooftop, to have more privacy on their talk. Tsuna invited Gokudera to join them (in which Reborn translated it as an invitation to him too for he immediately jumped to Tsuna's head). As usual, they were the only people in the rooftop. Tsuna started with introducing his friends to Gokudera.

"So how do you know Gokudera, Tsuna?" asked Yamamoto.

"Ah, remember my winter vacation around two years ago? I met him accidentally at that time." Tsuna answered vaguely, trying to avoid giving too much information to Reborn. With three (still) civilians here, Reborn and Gokudera would be afraid to talk much about the Cosa Nostra (hopefully).

"So why the formality and such polite way to talk to Tsuna?" asked Hana.

This time it was Gokudera, who answered, "You have to regard Jyuudaime with respect, woman. You have to call him with honor. Don't call him so casually, _woman_."

"Who are you to order us around, monkey? You just came and talked like you are Tsuna's bodyguard or something. Just because Tsuna invite you here, don't think that you can kick us out." Hana seethed out.

"YOU-"

"Enough!" Tsuna stopped the argument. "Gokudera you cannot talk like that. They are my friends, they can call me whatever they like. You can also call me by name. Just Tsuna is okay. I'm your friend too. Guys don't act hostile to each other."

"Hahaha Tsuna's right, Gokudera you should relax and drink more milk. It helps to calm your temper," inputted the so carefree baseball lover.

"What are you implying, you st-"

"Ah, what do you mean by Jyuudaime, Gokudera-kun?" Kyoko decided to cut in before another argument broke off. Tsuna was afraid of his answer, afraid that he would blow up their cover as Vongola.

Gokudera turned to Kyoko and stared blankly at her. "Jyuudaime is Jyuudaime. It's none of your business."

Kyoko turned to Tsuna. "What is it Tsuna-kun?" Tsuna answered with a shrug.

Suddenly a kick was delivered to Tsuna's head, making him stumbled and fell face first to the hard concrete with a shout "Itai".

"Ciaossu~" Reborn whose existence seemed to be forgotten all this time for he used his camouflage (when actually he was still on Tsuna's head) made a grant entrance.

"Hahaha, who are you kids? Are you Tsuna's brother?" asked Yamamoto.

"I'm Reborn, Dame-Tsuna's home tutor."

"Ah hello, Reborn-kun, you still follow Tsuna-kun?" greeted Kyoko while Hana stayed away from the baby as she was afraid that her allergy would relapse.

"Reborn-san!" Gokudera immediately bowed to Reborn. "I already see him as the perfect fit of Jyuudaime. I will follow him and become his right-hand man."

Gokudera's seemingly out of the blue words gained the attention of the other three friends of Tsuna.

Reborn stared at Gokudera then said, "Let's talk later."

"Hai, Reborn-san!"

Hana who saw the suspicios exchange decided to speak. "What are you guys talking about?" She spoke far away from Reborn, still not comfortable with the presence of a baby.

"It's none of your business!" snarled Gokudera.

Fortunaly, before Hana could retaliate and another fight could break out, a groan disrupted their conversation. It came out from Tsuna who seemed really love the ground. Actually he did not even want to wake up or sit or stand as he did not want to face the devil incarnation who would interrogate him sooner or later. However, he also did not want Gokudera to blab everything to his friends who practically still civilians.

"Reborn! Why did you do that?" Tsuna shouted in annoyance and faked anger. His answer to the question was another kick. This time it was his stomach that became the victim of Reborn's violence tendency.

"Ah, it looks like Dame-Tsuna is tired. I'll accompany him to the infirmary. You guys can eat first," All of them seemed to be hesitated and wanted to accompany Tsuna, but a single dark glare from Reborn made them turn back to their bento and conversation.

The devil hitman dragged his victim to secluded place to do some interrogation. They went into an empty classroom and Reborn locked the door. He then jumped to one of the table and stared at Tsuna. He seemed to assess Tsuna while Tsuna just stayed silent and controlled his body gesture to appear like he got nothing to hide.

"Dame-Tsuna," called Reborn, "how do you know the Smoking Bomb Hayato?" asked Reborn.

"Who?" Tsuna tilted his head, feigned confusion.

"Gokudera Hayato or widely known as Smoking Bomb Hayato in Casa Nostra because of his use of dynamites. How do you know him? How do you able to gain his loyalty?"

"Ah, Souka~ He has made a name for himself underground," Tsuna nodded. "As I said, I met him accidently during winter vacation few years ago."

"Tell me about it. You haven't answered my second question," demanded the hitman.

"Well, he bumped me and fell on his head made him unconscious. He was wounded and I couldn't leave him there. So, I treated him. Later on we spent a day together. And it seems that he thought of me as his savior even though I didn't do much." _Let's not talk about the pep talk I gave him._

"And tell me where do you meet him?"

"Ah I forgot the exact place but it was in, hmm" Tsuna hesitated to answer as he did not want to give much information. Fortunately, their talk was interrupted by the bell.

"HIEEE~ I haven't eaten my lunch yet!" The brunet used that moment to get away from the interrogation.

"Don't worry Dame-Tsuna, I'll eat it for you" said the baby.

"It's not for you! It's not even the problem. Get your own lunch, Reborn!" shouted Tsuna as he ran.

"Che, stupid bell. Just wait Dame-Tsuna, I'll force it out of you next time," the baby murmured darkly

* * *

After school, Tsuna walked home with Gokudera as the others had other activities. Reborn was doing his own business, perhaps trying to find more dirt on his student by stalking his friends. Tsuna decided it was time to catch-up with his friend.

"Gokudera-kun," started Tsuna.

"Hai! Jyuudaime!" replied Gokudera happily.

"Can you please not tell about my visit to Italy to Reborn? If he asks how we met just answers vaguely. And please just call me Tsuna. We are friends, right?"

"Hai, anything for you Jyuudaime. But you are Jyuudaime so I'll call you jyuudaime. I can't possibly call you anything but that as I'm not fit to call you that." Actually Gokudera a little bit afraid to hold back information from the greatest hitman, but his loyalty first and foremost was with Jyuudaime. Nothing would deter him from the mission his Jyuudaime had given to him.

Tsuna let out a sigh. "Stop with that attitude that thinking you less than me, Gokudera-kun. We are equal. We are friends and frineds call each other their name, not some title. I won't think any less of you."

"But I-I can't-" spluttered Gokudera.

"Then think this as a favor from me, Ne? As a friend asking you a simple favor. Moreover, think about it, won't people will get suspicious if you keep calling me with some kind of title." said Tsuna, smiling brightly.

"Hai, Jyuu-" a glare and super sweet smile, "Tsu-tsu Tsuna-sama." Tsuna let out another sigh. At least it was better.

"That's good enough for now. By the way, have you found your answer?"

Gokudera immediately straightened. He knew what Tsuna talked about. "Yes, Jyuu- Tsuna-sama. It is you. I'll live and die for you. I live to protect you."

"Gokudera-kun," started Tsuna softly, "It is good for you to find a reason to live and I'm really happy that you think so highly of me and want to protect me. I will also protect you, because friends protect each other. However," Tsuna paused as he wanted Gokudera to really paid attention to his words. "I don't need you to die for me. It will make me really sad. I want you to stay alive so we can enjoy our life together. Watching fireworks together with the others. Feel the beauty of life."

Gokudera was taken aback by the brunet's word. He was silent for a moment before finally he bursted out. "JYUUDAIME~! YOU'RE REALLY FIT TO BE JYUUDAIME! I"LL FOLLOW YOU FOREVER!"

This time it was Tsuna's turn to be taken aback. "Gokudera-kun, let's go. People start to watch." Tsuna had a mind to just leave Gokudera behind. Tsuna started to walk away. Fortunately Gokudera followed him, but unfortunately he kept shouting praise to his beloved Jyuudaime.

When they arrived at the Sawada residence, Tsuna invited Gokudera in, which gladly accepted by Gokudera who immediately wagging his tail. They were talking when the bell rang. Tsuna's intuition immediately tingled. He had a guess of who was behind the door. He asked Gokudera to wait. He felt Reborn's presence so he would let the event progress just like before.

"Coming~" shouted Tsuna.

"Pizza delivery," said the person behind the door. His guess was right, but wasn't it too fast? He shrugged. Things were different, so what?

"I didn't order one," replied Tsuna.

"It's free service from us as promotion." Convincing enough. As if. Tsuna let out a sarcastic chuckle.

Just as he predicted, when he opened the door several things happened. First he found a girl was about to open the pizza but before she succeeded, a baby already kicked it. Then the girl shouted, "Reborn!" tried to hug the baby and fell as the baby already jumped to Tsuna's head. Next, the baby started to introduce the girl while the girl kept saying her intention to kill him to get her lover back. The baby finally was able to put sense to the girl's mind. Reborn also asked for the girl's help in tort-tutoring his student, which she gladly accepted. Just as the girl decided to stay, Gokudera appeared.

"Jyuu-Tsuna-sama! What happened? Are you okay? Where is the enemy?" Gokudera was ready with his dynamites on his hand. "I'll protect y-" He stopped when he saw the familiar face of the girl.

"A-aneki," Gokudera immediately clutched his stomach and fell down. "Sorry, Tsuna-sama." Then he was out.

"Hayato! I miss you!" Bianchi immediately ran to her brother. "Ah, you miss me so much that you fainted?" Oh, God. Why Tsuna was surrounded by people who wanted to see only what they wanted to see.

And there went the reunion of the siblings and further cemented the stay of Poison Scorpion.

* * *

Few days had passed. Tsuna was in his room, studying with Gokudera and Reborn. Yamamoto just went home for his father need his assistance in the restaurant. Suddenly, a loud yell was heard from the window. There, a child with cow suit was standing on the tree that just right in front of the window.

"HAHAHA! Lambo-sama found you. How dare you leave Lambo-sama behind stupid octopus! Ah, the great Lambo-sama also found Reborn. HAHAHA Lambo-sama really genius! Prepare to be beaten Reborn!" He then threw grenades to Reborn which only be swatted away by the hitman. The baby hitman just kept ordering Tsuna to answer his questions.

"YOU! Why you followed me? Where is the marshmallow-freak?" shouted the silver-haired boy.

The child ignored him and jumped to the room, wanted to throw another weapon to Reborn. However, his landing was not smooth. He tripped and fell on his face. He stood up with a cringe then forced a laugh.

"HAHAHA I, THE GREAT LAMBO-SAMA WHO LIKED GRAPE CANDIES JUST TRIPPED! I am here to beat Reborn and be the best hitman and annoy the hell out of the Baka-octopus!" He pointed to Gokudera while snots came out of his nose. He ran to Reborn with his pair of horns on his head. Only to be slapped away and hit the wall.

"GUPYAA!" The kid stood up and tried to be strong. "Calm down, Lambo-sama is great. Lambo-sama is strong. Lambo-sama is hurt. UWAAAA!" The kid wailed and tried to pick something from his afro. Many weird things were being thrown around. Tsuna decided to intervene before the situation became more chaotic.

"Lambo-kun, right?" He maneuvered through the weapons being thrown around. When he arrived in front of the child, he crouched down and stretched out his hand. "Here, grape candies. Please calm down. I have plenty and I'll give you more if you be a good boy."

The boy immediately stopped crying, took the candy, and laughed. "HAHAHAHA BOW BEFORE ME! Lambo-sama just found another servant!"

"Tsuna-sama so great! You can immediately make the stupid cow stop crying! And you!" Gokudera pointed at Lambo, "Tsuna-sama is not your servant! Apologize to him!"

"Ah, it's okay Gokudera-kun." But of course, the loyal puppy would not let his master be offended in any form. Another bicker then erupted.

All this time, Reborn just observed the interactions. "Hm. Good traits you have there Dame-Tsuna. Now only mist is left, isn't it?" the baby's eyes gleamed.

* * *

I-pin hated to disappoint people. She did not like failure and she would do his best to finish his first assassination mission. She would not give up easily. Although she was in a foreign country with foreign language that he could not comprehend clearly, she would not give up. The unfamiliarity of the street, of the language, of the situation would not deter her. She would show the result of her training with her Master by finishing the mission. She would not disappoint her Master. That was why she decided to ask someone of her target's whereabout despite her lack skill of Japanese.

She was too focused on looking at the picture of her target and trying to figure out where to find him, so she did not realize that a teen was walking toward her. The teen crouched down in front of her. The teen finally got her attention when he spoke.

"Hello little girl, what are you doing? Are you lost?" asked the teen, making the child looked up from the photo.

The little girl was shocked. First of all, she could understand the language the teen was speaking. Chinese. He was speaking Chinese. He was speaking her language. I-pin was so happy. Second, the teen recognized her as a female. He did not mistake her sex. Third, the teen seemed like her target. What a luck! She did not need to search anymore. Her target came to her by himself. Though, she a little bit disappointed that she had to depart from someone she could understand so soon. But mission was mission. She was professional.

I-pin took another look at the photo. She narrowed her eyes and compared the photo with the teen in front of her. Yup, it definetly looked the same…. or at least that what she saw. She prepared her stance.

"Are you looking for him?" The teen was asking her again because he did not get any verbal reaction from the child.

I-pin did not forget her manner, so she answered the question. "I-pin isn't lost. Yes, I'm looking for him. He is my target and you look like him, so sorry mister. I-pin has to kill you, though you seem so kind. I-pin doesn't want to disappoint Master." The little girl then started to move her hands, preparing to attack the teen in front of her.

The teen seemed to sweatdrop as the photo did not resemble him at all. "Wait, wait!" The boy abruptly shouted and tried to fish out something from his bag as he remembered something and he did not want to be killed yet.

"Here, I've got something for you. And please check the photo again. I think you are mistaken." The teen boy stretched out his right hand and gave a pair of spectacle to the little girl. _'Luckily, I just happened to bring a spare of Uncle Kawahira's glasses,' _the boy internally let out a sigh.

The girl seemed to be hesitated, but then she shrugged. What harm that a pair of spectacle could do? She took the glasses, wore it, looked at the photo and looked at the teen in front of him. She immediately blushed and bowed.

"I-pin so sorry!" Then her Pinzu-Time Bomb activated. Ten points appeared on her forehead. She got so shy because she was really embarrassed. She just made a great mistake and almost killed an innocent.

"Ahahaha, it's okay. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Just call me Tsuna. So where is your house?" The older of the two said with a bright smile, introducing himself.

Seeing the brunet's reaction, it only made I-pin blushed further. The ten points of mahjong tiles became nine. To answer the question, I-pin just shook her head. Luckily, the boy got her message.

"Ah, then want to go to my house? There is another kid at your age. He can become your playmate," the brunet gave a soft smile. His action made the girl shyer. Nine turned to eight. Tsuna knew what it meant. However, he could not act like he knew for he knew that Reborn was watching. Luckily, Reborn finally made appearance by kicking Tsuna's head.

"Dame-Tsuna. How do you know she is Chinese?" Tsuna gave Reborn a look. Seriously, from her appearance, it was really obvious. Reborn kicked Tsuna again, this time on his stomach. "How can you speak her language?"

Tsuna shrugged, "I've learnt it before." The answer did not satisfy Reborn. Another kick was aimed at Tsuna's forehead. However, Tsuna avoided it 'accidentally' as he bowed his upper body to look at his leg where a certain kid clutched onto. The girl got more embarrassed as it turned out her Master's friend had witnessed the incident. The number turned to seven. Moreover, it seemed the boy that she almost killed was her Master's friend's acquitance. Seven turned to six.

"Che." Reborn clicked his tongue. Then he averted his gaze to the little girl. "She is I-pin, an assassin from Hong Kong. Her nickname is "Human Bomb." See the symbols on her forehead that suddenly appeared?" Tsuna nodded his head "It's the timer. I-pin is a really shy person. If her shyness peaked, she will go boom. And she will also get clingy to the nearest person. Oh yeah, the explosion power can create small crater. So, goodluck."

"Reborn!" he cried out. Left it to Reborn to act so nonchalance and left the hard job to his student. Tsuna sweatdropped. Tsuna then thought out for a moment. He did not want to throw I-pin to the sky. He did not want to hurt the girl and let her explode. He knew how to handle I-pin in the future but he did not know if it would also work right now. Ah, screw it all. Tsuna would just do whatever he felt right. If it did not work, he could just make I-pin unconscious or he could just shield himself and I-pin. Though, he did not want it to come to that for it would open a can of worms he was not ready to open yet. Meaning, Reborn would get more suspicious.

The brunet crouched down and then hugged the little girl. The number reduced again to five.

"Hey, I-pin, it's okay to be embarrassed and shy. I know you're a good girl and don't want to hurt anyone with the explosion."

_Four_.

"Try to repress it, and later on we'll slowly try to curb your shyness. Ah, Lambo will be a great friend for you. I think he can help make you more outgoing. Ah, Lambo is the other kid I'll tell you before. You can play together. We can go home right now to meet Lambo and Kaa-san. Then you can immediately play together with Lambo. But if you go KABOOM right now, our way home will be delayed. It's okay if you can repress it, I'll also protect you and the others." I-pin started to look up, to look at the brunet. The brunet threw her a reassuring smile.

"However, if you can repress the bomb, then wouldn't you feel like you accomplished something and then become proud of it? Won't you make someone pride of you? I'll definetly become proud of you." I-pin immediately thought of her Master and also her own determination.

"Moreover, you have to prepare yourself to get more praise as a great martial artist in the future right? So why don't start from now to get over the shyness?" Tsuna let out a chuckle. He still held I-pin close. The symbol started to shimmer before going faint gradually. I-pin did not know why but she felt she became a little braver to come out from her shell of shyness because of the brunet's words. The symbols then completely vanished.

Tsuna grinned and caressed the girl's head. "Good girl. Look you can do it. Now let's go home." I-pin blushed again with the praise, but the symbol did not come out again. She smiled widely.

"Yes, Tsuna gege." Tsuna picked up I-pin and brought her to his chest. This way they could walk faster. Reborn saw that as his cue to also go on his ride. Reborn jumped to Tsuna's head.

"Nice try, Dame-Tsuna. You can be a good mother," said Reborn as Tsuna only ignored his comment but he decided to throw one of his own jabs to Reborn.

"Wao, you're really a good spectactors. You seem like to watch how my life plays out. Glad that I can provide you entertainment oh great Reborn. I'll try to entertain you more with my life drame in the future."

Actually he was a little bit stressed out today. Last night, he got another nightmare. Fortunately Reborn was out with in morning sparring, Hibari just had to be an ass. Yamamoto and Gokudera's fight just got a little bit worse today. There were sword and dynamites. Reborn increased his training because he could not control his guardian. He just wanted to go straight to home and slept. Then he met I-pin. He was happy to meet her. But as the nightmare was still fresh, Tsuna was a little bit unsure of his control. He just got tired of Reborn who recently really wanted to get some reaction from him. Like the baby searched for a certain thing from him. So he just a little bit control of his emotion and made a smarty comeback to Reborn which was a mistake as no one talk back to the greatest hitman.

Reborn was annoyed at the comment. How dare his student got smartass with him? He started to lose his temper and changed Leon to become a gun. The aura around him became so dark. Leon was already on his hand in a gun-form. He cocked his gun to Tsuna's head and was about to pull the trigger. No, the hitman would not let himself be riled up by this brat. He was better than the brat and would not show his feelings.

BANG!

Reborn shot to the sky to let loose of his temper. I-pin looked up at the hitman. She did not understand what was happening. Tsuna patted her head to calm her.

"Don't try to be a smartass with me, Dame-Tsuna. Or next time, I'll shoot directly to your skull." Reborn then stroked Leon. "Now, my _dear_ student. Please tell me, how can you know that I-pin has nearsightedness? And how just you so coincidencly has a pair of glasses in your bag?" Reborn just suddenly threw serious questions. I-pin perked up at the sound of her name. But with a smile from Tsuna, she turned back to look on the surrounding, trying to memorize the way.

"Because the photo she has is obiously isn't a photo of mine. The person in the phot doesn't look a single bit similar to me. So I thought there must be something wrong with her eyes. There must be mistake. Then I got an idea: why don't I make her recognize that she was mistaken me for someone else. But if there is really something wrong with her sight then what she saw and what I saw was different, right? So it'll be difficult to convince her if we have different perspective on the problem. Then hey, if the problem is her eyes then I just need do something about that and I remembered that there might be glasses on my bag. It was my friend's spare. I just hope it worked and lucky for me it worked." Tsuna explained very long. He was stalling.

"Ah, we are home," Tsuna went in. "Kaa-san, we are home. I bring someone with me." He did not give chance for Reborn to ask another question.

'_Day by day, Dame-Tsuna starts to show his real self and level of intelligency. He still hides a lot of thing. It's also the first time he got sassy with me.' _Tsuna just gave Reborn another thing to be mulled over.

* * *

Next it was Dino's turn to meet his junior. The Cavalonne boss was called by Reborn and he was curious what his junior was like. So he immediately cleared his schedule and flew to Japan.

Tsuna went home only to see his house crowded by men in black suit. He just kept walking and when stopped he only calmly introduced himself as the resident of that house. He knew who he would find in his room.

Tsuna opened the door to his room. Dino was sitting on a chair with the back of the chair facing Tsuna. Then he started speak as he turned around. He kept talking about himself and Reborn's tutelage and how that made him Tsuna's senior and basically older brother. However, something different happened this time. He did not trash talk Tsuna. He immediately went to the encouragement part.

Dino Cavallone at first thought that Sawada Tsunayoshi was another loser like him before he met Reborn. However, when he turned around and met those brown eyes, his mind changed. The brunet might be small and short but his eyes held strength and determination. Dino's flame hummed in agreement. Dino felt his flame made his body tingle, like it wanted to tell him something. He immediately felt familiar to the brunet and decided to claim him as his younger brother. Dino put it as a sky flame recognized another sky flame. He was right, but only to a certain extent. Oh, only if he knew the truth of what his adopted little brother had done. What his flame recognized was not only a sky flame, but his own flame. It was really faint so it was hard to recognize.

Several times without he, himself, aware of it, his gaze trailed to Tsuna's neck. Subsconciously, his awareness told him that there should be something on Tsuna's neck, no there was something. Reborn noticed Dino's glances, but he put it as his student's weirdness, especially with that stupid smile on the blond's face. Thus, unfortunately for Dino, and fortunately for Tsuna, Dino did not get into the club of the knowing.

That day, Tsuna regained his brother back and his life became more chaotic. And he knew it would get more chaotic day by day. But what's life without any spices, right?

~!~

It was the middle of afternoon when the sun was right on the top of your head. Namimori streets were quite deserted as the hot sun made the people reluctant to go prefered the cool indoor. However, the silence was interrupted by footsteps and shouts. A kid with brown hair was seen running through alleys while several men were hot on his tail. The boy seemed to have been running for awhile as bead of sweats ran through his body. He was on his end. His steps were getting shorter. He was getting slower. He started to run out of breath. But, he could not stop running. His life and his future were at stake. The boy tightened his grip on the big book he was holding. The book was a lot bigger than a normal book.

The boy did not have any certain place on his mind, however, he had a certain person to meet. The stars would not lie to him. That person would give him sanctuary. He would be protected from his pursuers and his savior would not and could not refuse his requests. His ranking told him that. Now only one question remained: where to find one Sawada Tsunayoshi.

The fatigue made the boy lost his concentration. He stumbled just as he was about to turn right. He did not immediately fall to the hard ground, but instead he bumped onto someone and made the other fall and cushioned his own fall as he fell on top the other.

"Ouch!" said both of them. The boy who seemed to remember he was being pursued immediately wanted to stand up and run again. However, it seemed the rest of his energy had evaporated with the fall. It was really hard just to stand. His legs were trembling. After all, he had run for more than an hour nonstop. His leg had turned to jello. He shakily tried to stand and was about to fall again, but a pair of hands held him and stabilized him.

"Are you okay?" said someone in concern. The boy looked up only to meet a pair of brown eyes full of concern. The other then helped the boy to stand up as he also needed to stand. The boy observed the one he bumped. The other was in his teen and older than the boy himself. He had spiky brunet hair and big brown eyes. As the boy did his observation, the older of two picked up the book the smaller boy dropped.

"Here," he gave the book with a smile. Just right when the smaller boy grabbed the book, the older brunet grabbed his arm and pulled him. The younger boy was shocked and he started to fear the other as one of the bad guy. However, his fear was misplaced as he felt a swish of wind near his shoulder. The boy took a glance behind and saw his pursuers were already behind him and were about to grab him. The older brunet just pulled him to safety as he put the smaller brunet behind his back.

There, on the young boy's previous place, were three men in black suit with murderous face. They were angry and growled in anger.

"Boy, please give us the kid behind you," said one man with a goatee. The kid grabbed the older's arm tightly. He was trembling in fear. He was afraid that the older boy would just hand over him.

"Why should I do that?" the brunet tilted his head.

"We need to bring him back to his father. He ran away from home. The kid really have speed and gives us quite an exercise," the man who had long black curly hair was the one who answered, complete with a fake smile and fake reason. The brunet felt the hold on his arm got tighter. The kid then shouted.

"They are lying. They try to kidnap me."

The men hissed in anger and frustration. They decided to forego pretense. "Just hand over the kid or you'll get tangle with the mess, brat. You'll get hurt too."

"No thank you, old men. The boy clearly does not want to go with you. So, just go back crawling to wherever you belong."

"Just who do you think you are boy?" the tallest men of the three talked with much venom. He was tall and skinny just like a lamp pole.

"Me? I'm just nobody. I'm just a middle schooler. And if you are asking for my name you should give yours first, old men. Aren't you guys supposed to be gentlemen? But it's alright because I'm trying to be a gentleman here, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi." The kid's eyes widened. It seemed Lady Fortuna was on his side today. He just bumped to his would-be savior according to the star, his key to freedom.

"And here I thought that adult supposed to have more manner," continued the brunet, "I hope next time you'll be more polite, not that I hope there wi-" The men had enough of the brunet's rambling and they decided to attack the boy. "Goatee" was the first one to move. He swung a pocket knife to the brunet while "Curly" moved next as he crouched down and tried to kick Tsuna's legs with a swipe. The 'Lamp-pole' aimed for the brunet's stomach with his punch. None of their attack met their target as the brunet had seen their movements. Tsuna raised his leg and kicked Goatee's hand that held the knife. The knife was thrown away. Tsuna then in a fast movement grabbed the kid behind him and jumped away from the next two attacks. He then ran fast with the kid in tow, trying to gain distance with those men.

Tsuna turned to the kid and said. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Just call me Tsuna."

"I'm Fuuta de la Stella. Just call me Fuuta." The kid said softly.

"Okay Fuuta. I need to stay away from the fight, okay? It won't be long and then I'll bring you to my house to tend to your wounds. I saw some scratches and grazes. Understand?" Tsuna threw a reassuring smile to the boy. The boy only nodded and then ran a few meters away.

Tsuna focused his attention to the three grown men behind him who right then caught up with them. He needed to beat them fast, when he still had the advantage over them. He knew that they underestimated him and would not pull the guns yet. They were in the middle of the wide road, not in an alley somekind. This was Japan, not Italy. They had to do it more discreetly. They would not pull the guns yet.

Meanwhile, Reborn, who was up on a tree nearby, smirked. He immediately told Leon to be ready and changed to gun. 'It seems the time has come. It's time for Dying Will Bullet.'

This time, Tsuna was the first who took the first move. He charged forward. Those men were surprised with the speed and without they were able to react, they received a punch to the face, a knee on stomach, an elbow to the ribs and everything went black. They were defeated in two minutes flat. Those men were nothing compared to Hibari.

"Che. So weak. Not even a challenge for Dame-Tsuna. Where can I get a chance to shoot this bullet?" the hitman grumbled to himself.

Tsuna and Fuuta went to the Sawada house together while Reborn decided just to go first and wait at home. During the walk, Fuuta told Tsuna what he could do and his story in general. Tsuna asked Fuuta to not do a ranking about him whatever the reason was or whoever the person who requested. Of course, Fuuta agreed wholeheartedly. After all, if it was the price of his freedom –which not much at all- he would gladly do it.

* * *

It was a peaceful night in Namimori when Reborn received a phone call from Nono. He excused himself and went out.

"Ciaossu~!" greeted the hitman.

"Reborn, my friend. How are you doing and how is my heir doing?" said the voice from the other end.

"We are good. Tsunayoshi absorbs the lesson like a sponge to water. In fact, it seems that he has received this kind of training before. I need to upgrades my training. I haven't even had the chance to use the dying will bullets. He shows a lot of potential and it seems he has gained capable friends. His friends seem to be capable of being his guardian as they are already trained and also have the potential flames. Yet as I haven't used the bullet, I haven't taught them about flames. However, he also seems to know a lot more about our world than we think."

Reborn's report sent an alarm to Nono's head. His intuition told him that it was something serious and big that happened, but it was not a danger to Vongola and his family. The Ninth decided to let it pass and see how it turned out later.

"Ah, then please guide him to stay on the right path." _Ensure his loyalty to Vongola_.

"Will do, Nono. Now, why do you call? Surely it isn't just about my report for it isn't the time yet."

The mafia boss chuckled. "As expected of the greatest hitman," praised the boss. "I want to give you of a possible problem in the near future." The atmosphere turned to serious. Reborn eyes narrowed and he paid greater attention to Nono's words.

"We found that there is an increase in activities of a certain Famiglia from the north. They seem to be interested in Japan. In fact, a few members already took a flight to Japan today. Surely, you know about the strongest man of northern Italy and his illusionist friend, don't you?" said the ninth boss of Vongola.

"Lancia and Rokudo Mukuro," Reborn said, showing his knowledge of the people the Ninth talked about.

"Yes. They have made quite a name for themselves and their group, haven't they? Put your guard up, Reborn. We don't know what they're looking for yet, but if it goes against us, you know what to do, especially if it is about my heir. Please protect my heir, Reborn. I don't want to lose another one." The ninth started firm and ended with a tinge of sadness.

"Your heir is safe with me, Nono as long as he is my charge. Failure is not in my dictionary. Thanks for the notice. Ciao~" Reborn turned off the phone without waiting for dismissal. Only him, Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world, could get away with hanging off the phone of the most powerful man in Italy.

"It means more training, Dame-Tsuna. Or I can use this to tor-tutor you." The baby's eyes gleamed in sadistic pleasure.

At the same time Reborn's received the phone call from Nono, a certain brunet received several messages. All were from Italy and told one single thing. '_They are coming._'

* * *

**A/N: I am really sorry for the very long wait *bowed down* Forgive me guys, but the last semester was just so f**ked up. It was really hectic and I got many things to do. **

**I also say sorry for this chapter which still revolves around the first appearance of some characters which basically daily life arc. I am sorry if I dragged the story too long. It seems I also lost a little bit touch on the story *sigh* I promise in the next chapter there'll be more actions. The mists are coming. And also the beloved Varia~ And I think in a few more chapter, I will reveal something about the future or Tsuna's past hehehe Thank you guys who have read, followed, liked, reviewed, and criticized my story. **


	14. Kokuyo Gangs

It was hard to shake off Reborn especially now that it seemed he increased his observation. And Reborn was not the only problem he had. Tsuna also needed to avoid his friends from following him. After all, the one he wanted to meet right now would not feel happy with the extra companies. He was finally able to sneak out with the help of his mother and Lambo who accidentally kept Reborn busy enough. By the time they finished, it would be hard for Reborn to track him down especially Tsuna got further advantage with the existence of mist flames.

Tsuna stopped walking. He was in the middle of a park. It was quiet and the sun was about to set. The sky started to get darker. It started to get misty and cold all of a sudden.

"Ku fu fu fu~" a familiar laugh was heard.

"Mukuro, stop with the creepy laugh and show yourself," said Tsuna unamused.

The mist started to disperse and Tsuna could get a clear look of his surrounding. Several figures of body appeared.

"Ah, Full-team?" Tsuna smiled at the group. "Hello Lancia-san, Ken, Chikusa, Mukuro and Na- ah Chrome. You go by that name now, right?" the last was addressed at the only girl in the group.

"Hai," answered the girl with a timid smile.

"Ah, and who's this new face I see? Your apprentice I assume, Mukuro?" Tsuna asked with a grin.

"And I assume you already know him, even his name. After all you're the one who pointed me to him," Mukuro said with his usual smirk intact.

"Even if I already know his name, isn't it rude to not introduce us?" The brunet did not even deny the accusation.

"Yes, it is rude, Master." The boy with green hair and green apple hat joined in. His expression was really flat. But it brought another smile to Tsuna's face.

"Hi there! I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, just call me Tsuna. What's your name?" Tsuna decided to just introduce himself before Mukuro prolonged it with a fight with his apprentice.

"I'm Fran. The pineapple-head's disciple." Hearing the taboo word which was an insult to Mukuro's great hairstyle, Mukuro immediately stabbed the boy's head with his trident, pierced it through the boy's head.

"Master, it hurts. Please stop." Fran complained, still in flat tone and same expression.

"I know it isn't, brat!" Mukuro pushed his trident harder. Tsuna who saw the exchange just smiled amusedly.

"So what brings you here? You didn't say it in your message," Tsuna asked still with a smile on his face.

"Fu fu fu~ we're looking for someone and I think you know where that person is. After all you know more than you let on." Mukuro narrowed his eyes, he retracted his trident.

"And who are you looking for?" asked Tsuna again.

"We're looking for the Vongola heir. We hear that the heir is here in Japan. Though, we don't know which part in Japan he is. But still, we have an inkling that he might be around this region," explained Lancia.

"What's your business with him?"

"Fu fu fu, just some _intimate_ chit-chat," answered Mukuro.

"and what will y-"

"You asked too many questions, byon! Just say it whether you know him or not" Ken cut in impatiently. Tsuna just let out a chuckle.

"Well," Tsuna started, "he is," he paused for a dramatic effect, "he is standing in front of you," he finished with an innocent smile. His statement surprised them, rendered them into silence. However, the silence was broken by a manic laugh.

"Ku fu fu- FU FUFUFUFU! I knew it! I knew it!" The kanji in Mukuro's red eye flashed. They changed rapidly. "You are deep in the mafia! You are the same, aren't you? Playing with us like that! KUFUFUFU"

Tsuna let out a sigh. "I wasn't playing with you. I truly want to be your friend. As for the Vongola, I was informed by Reborn just a few months ago. I wasn't really involved, even until now I stil ain't involved in any mafia business except training. And like what I've said before. My goal is to change the mafia from inside, and perhaps I can just use this chance to do it. So, now what do you want me for?" Tsuna waited for the boy to cease his laugh. The other just kept silent as they did not grasp the conversation. They could not follow the conversation as they were missing something which was only known by the two boys.

"Then perhaps I'll just wait and see what you will do. It can be an entertainment for me." Mukuro said after he stopped laughing.

"Why everyone keeps thinking my life is an entertainment for them?" muttered Tsuna grouchily.

"I'll join you Sawada Tsunayoshi," declared Mukuro. It seemed as it was a sudden decision in which his other colleagues did not know. Ken gasped, Chikusa's eyes widened, Lancia stared in wonder at Mukuro, and Chrome just smiled.

"Then, I'll do so too," said Chrome. "Please take care of me," the girl stepped to Tsuna "Bossu," then she kissed Tsuna's cheek. Tsuna blushed. After all this time he still got blushed from such an innocent kiss. Ah, perhaps it is the suddenness of the kiss that made him blushed. After allReborn would scold him if Vongola Decimo could not handle and easily got flustered from kiss like that.

"Ah, just call me Tsuna, Chrome, Mukuro."

"W-what the heck just happened, byon?" Ken shouted confusedly.

"Kufufu~ you don't need to know Ken. And you and Chikusa also don't need to follow this Vongola as you are my followers, not the Vongola underlings. The same applies to you, Fran" said Mukuro.

"Yes, Mukuro-sama," answered Chikusa.

"Tsuna, I think I can trust you with Mukuro. I can go back to Italy soon. My business here is just to be an escort for these boys and young lady. I entrusted them to your capable hand." Mukuro twitched. Did Lancia just treat him as a brat?

"Fufufu~ I am not some kind of brat," Mukuro said darkly.

"Ah yes!" Tsuna shouted, like he just remembered something. It made the others turned their attention to the brunet. Tsuna then stared at Mukuro and Chrome alternately. "Will you both become my mist guardians?" Tsuna asked with a wide smile. His words once again succeeded in making the others speechless.

Mukuro twitched again. _How come this boy just asked that kind of question so casually and randomly?_ But Mukuro just decided to take it on stride. Well, that position would only get him closer to gain more influence underground. If he could not take the body of the boss of the most powerful mafia in the world, then he could be a guardian that perhaps could influence him and the others. His initial plan was to take control over the heir and make some big change in the world especially in the existence of several famiglia. But seeing who the heir was, he knew it would be really difficult and painful. Not that he did not love challenges, he did love it. He just knew what kind of thing that was out of his reach. Though, he decided that he would still try to take over the body from time to time. After all, he indeed loved challenge. It would be fun.

"Fine," Mukuro gave his answer, followed by a nod from Chrome.

"W-hat, w-what?" Ken spluttered. Poor boy, he was confused with the fast pace of this meeting. Everyone ignored him.

"Then perhaps there will be future alliance of Vongola and Serpente famiglia. I'll report this development to my boss." Tsuna just nodded, giving his consent.

"By the way before all of you go, there is one more thing," said Tsuna. The other just raised their eyebrows at that.

* * *

Today was a busy day, or at least that what seemed to Tsuna's circle of friends. They had their own agenda and could not go home together. Today, it was only Tsuna alone. However, he also had his own agenda and it was perfect that no one followed him home. He needed to have a private talk with his tutor.

"I'm home," called Tsuna as he went in.

"Okaeri, Dame-Tsuna," greeted his tutor.

"Where are Kaa-san and the kids?" asked Tsuna when he did not find his mother around to greet him.

"They go grocery shopping."

Tsuna nodded then looked at Reborn seriously. Reborn raised his eyebrow in question.

"Reborn, can I have a word with you? I have several questions and things to say," said the brunet seriously. Reborn felt that it would be a serious talk. He decided to regard his student seriously.

"Let's go to your room." They walked to Tsuna's room. Then Tsuna sat on his bed while Reborn stood at Tsuna's desk.

"Okay, shoot."

"Hmm, how to start this?" Tsuna muttered to himself. Then he decided to be just blunt about it. "Reborn, tell me honestly," he started, "Am I really the only one candidate? I mean what about the boss's nephew or something. And what will the others say about an outsider and half-blood like me become a boss to them just out of the blue? I mean won't someone protest. I don't want to be involved in any family feud or something. If there is other candidate, I'll gladly give my position to him."

Reborn smirked. He was pleased that his student seemed to be sharp. He decided to grace his effort with truth.

"Good thinking, Dame-Tsuna. It seems your brain is not there only for decoration." He then looked at Tsuna's eyes. He saw determination, resignation, guilt, pain, and confusion. He did not know what made Tsuna had those feelings. Did he really think about this issue for a long time? Did he was really that worry about this issue?

"There is a possible feud. Nono doesn't have nephew or niece. But he does have another son. However, he is not considered as a candidate anymore because he had staged a coup against Nono. Nono is also afraid that Xanxus will bring Vongola to another era of bloodshed. While he believes you will bring back Vongola to its root when Vongola was a vigilante group who went against injustice. Xanxus is a head of Vongola elite assassin group. The members are still loyal to him. He was imprisoned or frozen to be exact, but then just this morning I got news that he was missing or his frozen body was not in its place. Perhaps when the ice melt, he would go after you. But then he can also ask for a battle for the rights for Vongola rings with the supervision of neutral family, Cervello, and under Nono consent."

Tsuna's expression did not change. No single reaction. It was off. How came the boy did not get scared? Wasn't he supposed be a little bit scaredy cat and afraid of conflict? Iemitsu's data really couldn't be trusted.

"Now let's teach you a little about Vongola inheritance," continued Reborn, "Vongola has seven rings for each guardian. The first one is the boss, the sky who embraces all. The other sixs are named after the weather. Storm who goes raging through the problem; the tranquil Rain that washes away all problems; the Lightning who diverts the dangers, the Mist who creates something from nothing and makes something into nothing, the bright Sun who able to shine through the pain, and the aloof Cloud who is not binded by anything but will always be there."

The brunet's expression was still serious. However Reborn could see recognition in his eyes. Reborn then continued his lecture.

"Each element has its own property. But we won't go there yet until you learn about your flame. Which reminds me I haven't got a chance to shoot you. Che!" Reborn grumbled as he held Leon who then turned to gun.

"HIIEEE~! Reborn don't joke like that." Tsuna put a front, although inside he was relieved and even laughed a bit because his effort to avoid the bullet succeeded. He only hoped that that his luck would not run out. Hmm.. he needed to look for a way out soon. He needed a reason to access his flame freely.

"I'm not joking." Replied Reborn flatly. Tsuna stared blankly at Reborn, before "HIEEE~!" Reborn who tired of the brunet shouts immediately shot near the brunet head to shut him up. However, the brunet scream got louder.

"Shut up! Or I will really aim for your body parts next time," threatened Reborn which immediately silenced Tsuna. Despite the scream, Reborn noticed that the boy did not flinch at all. Reborn narrowed his eyes. His student was really something more than what he let on.

"Any other questions Dame-Tsuna?" Tsuna thought for a moment, then asked with a firm and serious expression.

"I know that I've asked this before. But I'll ask you once again. Do I really have no choice in this? I mean I don't even really have emotional ties with Vongola nor do I have interest in it. And this is my life, I'm living." Tsuna cringed internally at his words. At this point he could not just say 'fuck it' and run away. He was already too deep into this world and if he did that the world would crash down.

"You already know the answer."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Tsuna said with a sad smile.

Reborn answer was silence. He only stared at the brunet.

Tsuna let out a sigh. "Okay then, but I still have a say in this whole mafia things. After all it involves my life," Tsuna stared straight at Reborn's eyes. "First of all, I will be the one that decide my own guardians and I hope no one will really give a big fuss. Second, I will tell my friends about my involvement with the mafia along with the real dangers entitle to it and if they choose to not get involved with me, I want Vongola stay away from them and still give them protections." Tsuna then stood up. His eyes bore into Reborn's eyes.

"Lastly, tell Nono that I challenge Xanxus on that so-called Ring Battle after his guardians succeed in freeing him. I know that sooner or later he will get out whether someone will forcely free him or Nono will do it himself. This way we can prepare more and the event will go under my conditions."

There was silence for a few moments before it was broken by Reborn's kick to Tsuna head. "Ittai!" Tsuna shouted in pain.

"Dame Tsuna, you are a million year too soon to order me around." _Although you got me there. You're already thinking like a great leader._ Reborn smirked.

"Hai, wakatteruyo. I understand. Then that's all Reborn. I will get some snacks downstairs." Tsuna walked to the door. But he stopped after he opened it. He looked back at Reborn while one hand still on the door knob. "Ah, Reborn…"

Reborn raised his eyebrow in question. "What?"

Tsuna looked hesistant for a few seconds before his expression changed to 'whatever-just-fuck-it-and-let-the-ball-rolls.' Tsuna raised the hand that was free and suddenly his hand lit up in bright and beautiful orange flame.

"By flame, do you mean this?"

* * *

"Che. It took longer than my estimation. Jyuudaime must be at home already. I'm sorry Jyuudaime!" a silver haired teenager seemed grumbling to himself. He fastened his pace as it was already late. He was thinking to drop by Jyuudaime's house, just to check on him.

The boy suddenly stopped. His body got tense. His hand went to his pocket, ready to get out his dynamite if the situation called for it. "Who's there? Show yourself!" shouted Gokudera as he looked at an alley near him.

A boy walked out from the alley. He wore a greenish uniform, showing that he was from other school. Gokudera relaxed a bit, thinking it was just another student asking for a fight.

"Gokudera Hayato, Namimori Middle School, Class 1 A." stated the boy.

"What do you want? A fight?" Gokudera let out a sigh, already had enough of people asking for a fight. "Why they always ask a fight? Don't they know already to not pick a fight with me?" muttered him again. "Okay then, this won't be l-" Gokudera moved his body to the left. His eyes narrowed. Something just went passed his head. He could also feel something pricked his cheek, drawing a blood. He then focused his gaze at his attacker, seeing the boy held a pair of yoyo.

"Who are you?" asked the silver-haired boy. He started to get serious. It seemed the enemy posed more threat than the average thugs he faced.

"Chikusa Kikomoto," the black haired boy said as he fixed his glasses. He then threw out the yoyo once again. Already seeing the movement, Gokudera jumped back then he ran. He has underestimated his enemy, now he needed to gain space and thought a strategy. He needed to gather himself. He turned to an alley with the boy ran after him.

Chikusa followed to the alley, but when he turned to the alley he was met by lit dynamites. His eyes widened in shock but his experiences did not betray him. He in reflex threw both of his yo-yo to disarm the dynamites. Gokudera who saw it from his hiding place realized that this person who attacked him was not a mere middle-schooler. The way he fought, the tricks he used, it was no way he was only a civilian. He was precise and deadly. The attack was meant to maim or kill not only to hurt. He had the killing intent and did not hesitate to kill. He was an assassin, a hitman. With this realization, Gokudera also came into a conclusion that his opponent was from mafia, most likely from rival famiglia. Just as he realized this, the yoyos were being thrown to his hiding place, forcing him to roll out from there. And it was the right decision as when the yoyos made contact with the bricks, some explosion occurred.

"Che. Fortunately I just got my supply of dynamite," Gokudera muttered to himself, before facing Chikusa and glared at him. "Who sent you?"

Chikusa grinned. "Ah, I got the right target. Tell me who is your boss? the heir of Vongola? I want name."

"I won't tell you," growled Gokudera. He then brought out more dynamites. _If his target is Jyuudaime, I won't let him go. Both of us specialized in mid to long range attack, therefore strategy will be the determinant factor._

**_Double Bomb._**Chikusa was rained by dynamites but he just clicked his tongue and disarmed the dynamites. He retaliated with another attack but this time the movement of the yoyos got faster, he was determined to put needles to the silverette body. Gokudera knew that he could not avoid the attack with his speed alone. Thus, he threw one mini bomb backward. The explosion gave him boost in speed to move forward. His fist was ready to connect with Chikusa's face. Chikusa was taken aback by the sudden attack and the increase of speed, however, he was not an amateur. He stepped aside and avoided the punch.

Gokudera forced himself to stop and to make a turn which resulted in him losing balance and started to fall. However, before his fall he succeeded making his counterattack, throwing another batch of dynamites.

"Che. You don't have other tricks? This won't defeat me." Chikusa who saw the attack immediately threw his yoyos to once again disarm the dynamites. Unfortunately for him, he did not saw the tiny bombs among the normal ones. The tiny bombs exploded upon contact.

"Don't underestimate Vongola," stated Gokudera as he trew another batch of dynamites to finish his opponent. The last attack was surely hurted the Kokuyo student badly. Gokudera was satisfied with the result. Now as the battle had finished, he needed to check on Jyuudaime. He needed to make sure that no other assassin reached Jyuudaime.

He stood up just to fall again on one knee. He could feel his heartbeat was faster than normal and he was sweating. His view started to blur. "Shit, what's wrong with me?"

"Ah, my poison worked later than usual?" a voice seemed to answer the question that the silverette had. The voice made Gokudera to look up and looked at the origin of the voice. He saw Chikusa stood up with a lot of blood, showing that the last attack really put a number on his body.

Gokudera who heard that knew what it meant for him. It meant that he would lose if he continued this fight. He could end up dead. He needed help, medical help and although it wounded his pride he needed to retreat for now. So he gathered his last energy to stand up and run. He hoped that he could outrun the other boy to seek for some help. He knew he could not run for long as he could already see some black spot and everything got more blurred by seconds.

He turned right to an alley and at the end of the alley he turned right again. It was just his luck that upon the exit he bumped into someone. Whether it was good luck or bad luck was remained to be questioned. The impact made him lose his balance and he prepared himself to meet the hard concrete. He closed his eyes, but instead of hard concret he found himself in the arm of someone.

"Hey Gokudera~ Nice to meet you here! Be careful, you need to watch your step!" a familiar voice greeted Gokudera, which made the silverette opened his eyes to look at the owner of the arm who caught him.

"Y-y-ya-YAKYUU BAKA! What are you doing?" Gokudera suddenly gained strength to stand up and to free himself from his classmate's arm.

"Yah, don't run away, byon! I haven't finished playing with you, byon!" Another voice took away both boys' attention. The new voice belonged to a blond boy with greenish uniform, the same uniform as the boy who attacked Gokudera previously. He had scar went through his nose from one cheek to the other. His teeth were sharp, and were that fangs? His nails were long, almost like claws. He looked like a dog, a rabid one at that or at least an unfriendly one.

"Hahaha! You sure to play dangerous game! Hahaha! Can we play another game? How 'bout baseball?" Gokudera heard the baseball-idiot stating his dumb idea. Couldn't he see that this situation really serious? Gokudera was sure that the boy was the accomplice of his attacker. He could see that Yamamoto already had some wounds on his body.

"Ah Gokudera, He's Joshima Ken. He asked me to play with him and he's strong. I have to use the sword. Hahahaa!" Yamamoto, or the idiot Gokudera had the pleasure to know, somewhat introduced him to their enemy. His sword was leaned on his right shoulder. "Ah, and he asked me about Vo..vo.. bo.. ,no it's vo- something. Do you know what he's talking about, Gokudera?"

"It's Vongola, BAKA! And it's not a game! Mafia's life is not a game!" Gokudera growled.

"Ara? You know about it?" The blond grinned widely. "Then, I'll force the information out of you!"

Gokudera's face went pale. He had no energy left, the poison really had gone through his system. He knew that he would lose consciousness in few minutes, if not seconds. He could only stand up due to his stubbornness and strong will, and the shock of meeting the baseball-idiot. They were doomed. He did not know how to make their way out of this situation alive.

"**Cheetah Channel**!" Ken shouted out as he ran toward both Gokudera and Yamamoto with great speed.

"Ah, shit! I.. I'm sorry.." _ Jyuudaime, Yakyuu-baka… _Those were his last words before he lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was Yamamoto jumped in front of him and received the attack with his sword.

When Yamamoto realized that Gokudera had lost consciousness, he got panicked because for him it was so sudden, but at the same time it also gave him the determination to finish the 'game' quickly.

"Ah, I think we have to stop playing, right now. Perhaps we can play later. I need to make sure Gokudera is fine," Yamamoto said and pushed Ken with his strength. After that, he fixed his stance and readied himself for his own counterattack. He jumped toward Ken and thrust his sword but Ken with his extraordinary speed in his cheetah form avoided the attack easily and went to Yamamoto's back, one claw aimed for Yamamoto's neck and one aimed for his back. Yamamoto tried to turn back and stepped away from the attack but he was not fast enough. He had succeded in avoiding the fatal attack to his vital part which was his neck. The attack grazed his neck, blood seeped out from his neck. However, the attack on his back was a clean hit. Ken twisted his arm a bit to make more damage then quickly pulled out. Blood spurted from Yamamoto's back side.

Yamamoto immediately went pale due the blood loss. He fell down and lost his grip on his sword. Ken was prepared to make another blow but he was stopped by several voices. He could see that crowd started to gather, trying to break up the fights. Polices were coming. He recognized one of the voices but it came from the opposite direction from the crowd.

"Ken, it's enough. We can't get more information when they are in that condition. You can play another time." Hearing those words, Ken stood up and took out his catridge, letting his form changed to his normal one.

"Ah, Kakipi. What happened to you? Don't tell me you lost? You looked like a mess" Ken laughed seeing the state Chikusa was in, with a lot of blood decorated his wholed body.

"Che." Hearing that Chikusa looked away in annoyance. "Let's just go back. Polices are coming."

"Okay, okay~ let's get back and treat your wounds. Want me to lick it to get it better, byon?" teased Ken.

"Shut up!" They left, leaving two Namimori Middle School students wounded and in need of immediate medical help.

* * *

**A/N: HEY ALLL~ Oh I don't know that this story will still receive much love from all of you, although now I rarely updated this. I am truly sorry. As I'm in college break right now, I try to update. Actually I want to write more, but I don't want you to wait longer especially since I'm not sure that I will be able access to my laptop in one week or two as I'm going to my grandma's house.**

**I hope all of you like this chapter. I am really embarrassed about the fight scene. I love action movies, I can imagine the scene, but I'm bad about writing it :( I can't really put my imaginations into written words T.T Hope I'll get better at it in the future.**

**Okay, have fun everyone! Enjoy your summer break! ^o^**

**Once again thank you for the love! I don't expect it to receive more than a hundred reviews, and more than 200 followers and favorites. You guys really make me happy 3**

**See you again~ **


	15. The Truth? Are you ready for it?

Reborn felt numb and cold, but the feeling quickly changed to anger and enrage. He quickly hid his feeling and did not let what he was feeling inside shown outside. His fedora was tilted to hide his eyes. He had a feeling that the brunet had been playing with him all this time. He wondered how deep the brunet's knowledge about the mafia was. He knew the existence of flames and even could acess it with ease. And the flame was so bright and Reborn even could feel that it attracted his own flame. Damn Sky Flame's effects on other elements! However, Reborn could also feel something off about the flame. It did not feel like it fully represented who Sawada Tsunayoshi was or who he was supposed to be. The flame felt like it did not fully belong to the brunet. It felt like it was somewhat…. tainted and had a bit 'darkish' feeling.

Reborn wanted, no, needed answer and he did not want a vague or open to interpretation one. His information about the boy was useless, his observation on the boy did not really give a result, and the boy himself always held back the answers. Reborn had enough. He would force the answer out from the boy right here and right now. The timing was also suit him as there was no one else at home except the two of them.

"And do tell me Sawada Tsunayoshi, how do you able to produce that flame?"

Tsuna thought for a moment before he shrugged. "Hmm.. after I experienced some near-death experiences I finally learnt how to produce it myself and how to gain control over it."

"What kind of experiences?"

"Like being in the wrong place at the wrong time or like some stupid mistakes that can cost you your life. For instance, dragged into some Yakuza dispute, being beaten up, almost got into a car crash, being held at gun points, ran into some scary dogs, almost fell from a cliff, seeing someone you care in danger hmm.. what else? With my luck trouble seems to always find me." All those did happen in some points in Tsuna's life. Hearing those events raised more questions especially about someone else in danger, but Reborn needed to prioiritize.

"Since when?"

"Ten I think. Ah and I think at first my flame was sealed. I felt something off with me. I can't think clearly or focus on anything. My limbs do not want to cooperate with me. But after I gained access to my flame, my coordination and even my academic life get better." Tsuna intentionally dropped the information about his sealed flame. Reborn would surely try to contact Nono to check the information. Nono would tell him that he had sealed the flame and later on Reborn would ask more, so it was better to let it out right now.

"What did happen? What triggered it to broken?"

Tsuna hesitated. He had not prepared an answer for this. But his intuition assured him that the outcome would not be that could not say that it just broke suddenly after he woke up, couldn't he? He decided to say whatever came into his mind that moment. It was reckless move but he should try at least.

"I.." Tsuna paused, "almost got kidnapped once," Tsuna snorted mentally after the words came out. _Yeah, by who? Kawahira?_ "and.. I got nigthmares. Vivid ones that make you feel really in danger. I can't distinguish dream and reality." _Waw great Tsuna, what nonsense you talked about_. Tsuna cringed mentally. Though, about the nightmare was somewhat true.

To Tsuna's surprise Reborn nodded, seeming to accept his excuse and explanation. Reborn decided to trust his student, after all in tutor-student relations, trust was essential. His mind had generated several theories that may fit with Tsuna's explanations. He believed the vivid nightmares, as dying will flames were mysterious like that. After all the flames was in sub-conscious and in deeper part of a person. Moreover, sky flame and a Vongola at that was special case as they were unique. Flames had special relations with their wielder.

"How much do you know about mafia?"

"Enough to get around in the underground world."

Reborn gritted his teeth. _This brat!_ He needed another way to get it out from the brunet. He decided to start from what he had already known that the boy surely knew.

"Flames and their abilities?" Silence.

"Omerta?" Silence.

"Rings?" Silence.

"First generation?" Still silence.

"Hyper intuition?" Another silence.

"The prison and the guards?" Silence. Tsuna's expression did not change. He could saw what Reborn was doing. Reborn was surely searching for a change in his posture and expression.

"The rainbow babies?" Tsuna raised his eyebrow in question and incredulity.

"The curse?"Still no answer.

Reborn scowled then pulled out his gun, cocked it and aimed at Tsuna. "Answer me Dame-Tsuna." Actually Reborn had already drawn his conclusion and what he found really bothered him and made him at unease. There were two possibilities. It was either Tsuna was really clueless about all of them except the few he had explained and the basic ones or he knew all of them and the silence was really meant yes. The latter would meant more trouble and he was afraid what it would imply and what exactly the reality was. Reborn's intuition was leaning toward the latter. He really did not like it.

"What are those supposed to be?" Tsuna feigned ignorance and acted clueless. "Are they questions? Of what?"

_Damn this brat! _Reborn pulled the trigger.

BANG!

"HIEE! Reborn what was that?" Tsuna shouted. The bullet went past his ear, singed his hair and put a hole into the wall behind him.

"I would take your silence as yes," Reborn said calmly but under the calm pretense was anything but calm. "Now tell me, where do you get your information? Who helps you?"

"No one. I learned by myself. Who would help my dame-self?" Tsuna said unhesitated. Reborn could feel the slight bitter tone. Reborn thought he was bitter about the bullies and the name-calling, but he was wrong. The boy was bitter about other things. He was thinking about his failure and his useless times and how he would do it better this time and probably without involving those who dear to him in danger.

"The truth, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn growled. He was getting tired of these plays. "You're staying silence does not help in protecting them. I'll find out sooner and later. Sooner is better," Reborn thought that Tsuna acted like that to protect his informant.

The tension was broken by the sound of phone ringing downstair.

"A-ah.. I need to answer that, I guess. It can be important," Tsuna started to walk away but he was stopped by another bullet. There was a bullet hole right in front of his right foot.

"Take another step and I will clearly put a hole in your body, Dame-Tsuna." Tsuna was frozen. _Shit_. He clearly had angered Reborn. _Oops._ Reborn was getting fed up with being played around. Now Tsuna needed to give another piece of information to calm the anger.

"What made you think that?"

"You won't survive the burnt of the flames and gain controls without help. You won't get much information that will help you survive without help. The seal especially put by Vongola Nono wouldn't break easily without outside interferences and help. When the seal broke by force, you would likely to get damaged and I know that you won't easily survive the untamed and overwheming flames which would run wildly at young age and with your body still unused to the flame. It would be like water from broken dam which would endanger yourselves and others around you. You are still in middle school and live a civilian life. Or not. You won't know about what to do if you had no one to throw you the rope. You are here right now with the full control of your flame told me that you got help from someone really deep in Mafia to ever have access to dying will flames and know confidential information. Now cut off the bullshit and tell me the truth!" Reborn demanded.

Tsuna was taken aback by Reborn outburst. He then composed himself and let out a sigh and a sad smile formed on his face. The phone stopped ringing before few seconds later it rang again. The smile and the expression startled Reborn. He did not expect that.

"The truth, huh?" Tsuna seemed to question himself. "You are not ready for it, Reborn. No I got helps, but they are trustworthy people. They saved my life and I trusted my life to them. Now, I won't give names. You may or may not know them, for I don't know your friend or contact lists. But I'll give you some clues. One is a distant family, another is a brother of circumstances, and the last is the man who watches from a far and protect one yet all, and all yet one." The smile on Tsuna's seemed to get sadder.

Reborn seemed to be really taken aback by Tsuna's reply. The reply rendered him to silent. He seemed to process the information and tried to solve the riddle the student gave him.

"Now, please excuse me, Reborn. It seems the phone call is really important as the phone doesn't stop ringing." Tsuna said and then ran downstairs.

"Just what do you get into, Dame-Tsuna?" The hitman murmured to himself. And now, all the anger had evaporated. It had changed to worry. The hitman was worried about his student. The sad and anguish feeling from his student were genuine. He wondered what really happened to make his student like that.

Downstair, Tsuna was met with cries from the other side of the phone. He started to panic.

"Hello? Who is this?" Tsuna asked.

"T-t-tsuna-kun.." The other replied. Tsuna instantly recognized the voice.

"Kyoko? What happened?" The other just burst into another cry.

"Kyoko-chan, tell me what happened. Calm down and tell me. I'll help you," Tsuna tried to sooth the girl. He waited for the girl to calm down. After a few minute Kyoko seemed to calm down enough to talk. At the same time he could feel Reborn landed on his shoulder.

"N—nii-chan….. h-hurt… hospital…" Kyoko broke down again. Tsuna already got the gist of the situation but he needed the full information and it seemed Kyoko could not really talk.

"Kyoko-chan, hey Kyoko-chan… Listen, tell me where you are and I'll come right away." Kyoko kept crying and Tsuna could hear that the phone was given to another person.

"Tsuna-san?" Tsuna recognized the voice right away.

"Haru?" asked Tsuna.

"Yes. It's Haru. Tsuna-san please come to Namimori Hospital. Gokudera-san, Yamamoto-san, and Kyoko-chan's Nii-san were in hospital. They seem in bad condition. It seems they are beaten up by bad people. They are still unconscious until now." Haru seemed panicked.

"How is Kyoko?" Tsuna asked.

"Hana-san is trying to calm her, now."

"Okay stay there. I'll come right away." He ended the call and quickly went to the door with Reborn still on his shoulder.

"I'll call Shamal." Reborn surely heard all of the conversation. "and Tsuna," the brunet paused in the middle of wearing his shoes. "Be careful. I think it is a mafia job. Rokudo Mukuro and Lancia from Serpent famiglia are in town." Tsuna nodded, quickly finished tying his shoes and ran to the hospital.

* * *

Tsuna had not prepared for this. He thought he was prepared to see his friend being hurt once again. Oh boy, he was wrong. Few minutes in the room where Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Ryohei were lying, he almost had panic attack and hypervilanted if not for the strong grip Reborn had on his hair. He caught himself in memories where those who were lying right now could not wake up again. At the time when the injuries were more fatal, when he had made mistakes and feeling useless. He remembered Hayato and Takeshi screamed his name then suddenly Hayato was already in front of him, taking the attack with his body. Moments later he said sorry and goodbye. He remembered the time the sword had failed Takeshi and the time Ryohei was no longer his exuberant self. He remembered his Nii-san kept charging forward despite some fatal injuries he had, all for the revenge. Tsuna was late and when he was there, his brother had only few minutes to say goodbye words.

Tsuna let himself being led by Reborn to go outside. He then sat down and buried his face to his palms. He tried to shake off the memories. Now was not the time. He was around people. He also knew that all of them were alright and would soon wake up. Shamal was working on them. He had to calm down. Tsuna forced himself to calm.

"They are going to be okay. Believe in your friends, Dame-Tsuna. Shamal's good at his job." Tsuna barely heard Reborn's assurance in his daze. Reborn's words helped in bringing back Tsuna to the present. Tsuna let out a sigh and then looked up.

Tsuna looked around, looking for his other friends. He saw the three girls were together. Kyoko was in Hana's arms while Haru rubbed Kyoko's back. Tsuna admitted that his friends wounds seemed to more serious than in the past. 'Ah they gave more fight than previously. They are already stronger than before' Tsuna smiled sadly. He did not know if he should be happy or saddened by this. He then sat up and walked to the girls, trying to soothe their panic.

Half an hour later, Shamal went outside.

"They are awake." Kyoko immediately rushed in and tears of relief came out from her eyes. Shamal went to talk with Reborn. Fifteen minutes later both were back in the room. There were already smiles and laughs in the room. They were already bickering. Things started to feel normal.

Tsuna knew that both were already certain that the boys were attacked by Mafioso. Reborn asked the million-dollar question.

"So what happened?"

The three injured boys especially Ryohei seemed to hesitate in answering, seeing the girls were still there. Surprisingly, the next to talk was Tsuna and his words were more surprising to all.

"It's okay. They deserve to know." Tsuna's expression was firm. Ryohei was starting to get angry, but before he could put his anger into some words or actions, Gokudera had already talked.

"I don't know what happened with Turf-head, but Yakyuu-baka and I were attacked by students from Kokuyo Middle School. Their name are Chikusa Kakimoto and Ken Joshima." Tsuna heard the girls gasped.

"And Nii-san?" Kyoko asked quietly. Her brother let out a sigh.

"The one named Ken also attacked me," Ryohei could not look at his sister, afraid of her reaction. He had promised to not fight anymore. He was surprised when Kyoko hugged him, saying that it was okay and that she understood. She was just relieved to have her brother back.

"Why they attacked you?" This time it was Hana who asked.

"Ah, Ken kept asking me about vo..bo..vong.. ah I forgot. Hahaha!" Yamamoto tried to answer.

"It's Vongola, BAKA!" Gokudera was really angered by the baseball-lover ignorance of the situation.

"What's Vongola? What is the relation of the attack to clam?" Hana asked again. She knew that word from Italian restaurant and its menu. Tsuna bowed his head down. His bangs shadowed his eyes. He seemed to calm himself and in the process of gathering his determination. He took a deep breath then spoke.

"Guys," Tsuna called. It made him the center of the attention. "I want to tell you something. I may know something about this attack." Tsuna said seriously. He then spoke again, "Hibari-senpai you can just come in." Tsuna heard some surprise gasps and more gasps when the said prefect came in through a window.

"How? It is fifth floor." Tsuna heard someone said.

"Che. I hate crowds. Make it fast."

"Just don't come running to them right away, Hibari-san." Tsuna replied calmly.

"Hn." Hearing the answer Tsuna just sighed.

"Okay, I think I know what or _who_ they are after." Tsuna started. "It is me." Right away some surprise exclamations were heard.

"Hahi, Tsuna-san?"

"Tsuan, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean, Tsuna-kun?"

Tsuna raised both of his hands, asking them to stopped talking and stayed quiet. He thought for a moment on words he was about to say. He then shrugged. Reborn hadn't stopped him yet. He had not sworn under Omerta yet. So it was okay whatever the outcome was, he guessed. He was a little bit sorry to Hana though, because he was about to drag her sooner than before.

"What I'm about to say is one of my secrets and would put you in danger. I am sorry to put all of you into this situation. But I think all of you deserve to know." Tsuna took another deep breath. "Vongola they talked about is a Mafia famiglia. One of the strongest and the most influential ones. I am the heir of this mafia famiglia, the soon to be tenth boss. I live my life as civilian and just know about this, thus many don't know about me yet. They are looking for information about me, I guess." Tsuna could see some wanted to raise questions and some in disbelief. He raised his hand to stop them from asking.

"Listen first, and don't interrupt me, please." Tsuna then looked at Reborn which hid his expressions with his fedora. "Reborn, here is my tutor. He has a mission to raise me to become a mafia boss." Tsuna looked at Haru who was about to speak. "And Haru, I'm not joking. I don't teach something bad to this baby. He is really an assassin, a hitman. The number one hitman in the world to be exact. But don't worry he's no threat to us, to all of you." Tsuna let out a smile to assure them.

"Now, I don't have a choice nor do I have a say in my involvement in mafia, but I make sure to make all of you have a choice. I'm telling you this right now, so you can make a choice. Just by involving yourself with me will expose all of you in danger, but then I'll make sure to protect you. After this if you want to cut off your relation with me, it is okay for me. At this point I guess you can still back out. I won't force you to join mafia. I haven't sworn under Omerta so I think it is okay for me to tell you these. I hope you won't speak about this to others for it will only endanger yourself further."

Tsuna then looked at the injured people. "Onii-san, Gokudera, Takeshi… I am sorry that you get hurt because of me." Tsuna then stared Yamamoto and singled out him when he was about to laugh all of the explanations off. "Takeshi, this is not a game. This is reality, and you have seen the consequences. One mistake will cost you your life. But if you see life as a game, then yes it is a game."

Tsuna was serious. His words were rather harsh. His eyes were void of emotions. His face was blank. No one could read him. It was like he was in hyper dying will mode. Tsuna looked around subtly to see their reactions to the information he just shared. He could see pain, shock, anger, excitement, acceptance, bloodlust and confusion. Hibari was brimming with bloodlust and excitement, also slight annoyance. As expected of the skylark. Gokudera looked at Tsuna with pained acceptance and understanding. The civilians would not know about the real danger.

Tsuna then bowed to them. "I'm sorry that I dragged all of you into this and just suddenly giving out all of this information. I won't ask for your forgiveness," _for I don't deserve that especially after what happened in my past_. He then stood up. "Now, I'll leave you to digest all of these. I understand if after this you want to cut ties with me. So goodbye. Ah, and Hibari-senpai, remember to not go to their hideout alone. Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Nii-san please get well soon." Although it pained him to say those words, he forced them out. He also put a smile for them before finally he left the hospital room, leaving stunned teenagers behind who were frozen in confusion and surprise.

Reborn decided to stay in the room and not to follow Tsuna. He wanted to give the boy space and he also wanted to see the others' reactions. The silence was broken by an exclamation from a silver haired teenager.

"Ah! Who will protect Tsuna-sama?! The attacker is still out there looking for him!" He wanted to get off of the bed only to fall back to the bed. His body was still too weak.

"Hayato you should stay in bed until I deem you ready for leaving." Shamal said seriously. Gokudera glared at the doctor but then diverted his gaze to the baby in the room.

"Reborn-san, please. Jyuudaime cannot be alone right now. He can be attacked." Gokudera pleaded to Reborn and used the word 'Tenth' to emphasize Tsuna position and importance as the target.

"Don't you believe in his capability Gokudera? And the enemies still don't know the Decimo's identities," assured Reborn. "Now all you have to do is make a fast recovery so you can protect him."

Gokudera seemed to want to protest, but one look from Reborn silenced him. He then looked away from Reborn only to realize that the others were looking at him.

"Che!" he voiced out his irritation. "What are you looking at? And you civilians should just stay away from Tsuna-sama if you really can't swallow the truth and face the danger. You will hurt Tsuna-sama and burden him for he have to protect all of you while you don't even want to accept him for who he really is." Gokudera scowled. His words seemed to ignite something in the other teenagers.

"And who are you to decide for us, monkey?" Hana asked in irritance.

"WHAT! Woman, you-!"

"Yeah, we are Tsuna-kun's friends too. We also care for him." Kyoko cut off Gokudera, stopping the fight before it started.

"Hn." Hibari grunted out and left the room. It seemed his quota of crowding for the day had exhausted. But the grunt seemed to mean that he agreed with the girl. After all no one could force Hibari to do things. Hibari always made his own decision as he liked.

"We know him longer than you are, monkey!" Hana's words stabbed Gokudera.

"Hahi! Hana's right. Tsuna-san is our dear friend and he has saved Haru's life. So of course Haru will protect Tsuna-san too!"

"Yup, we are just shocked, Hahaha! Right, senpai?" said the baseball player to his fellow athlete. The older athlete nodded vigorously.

"SHOCKED TO THE EXTREME! AND OF COURSE AS HIS ONII-SAN, I WILL PROTECT SAWADA TO THE EXTREME!"

"Can you talk in normal volume?" Hana glared at the loud boy in annoyance.

"Hahaha!" Yamamoto laughed but then his expression turned serious. He let out a sad smile. "But Tsuna is really a fool." His words succeeded in gaining the attention from other occupants of the room.

"YAKYUU-BAKA! How dare you insult Tsuna-sama?! You un-!"

"Yes, Tsuna-kun is really a fool, isn't he?" Kyoko also said with a sad smile.

"Hahi! Haru agrees!"

"FOOL TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei said with less exuberant.

Gokudera twitched in anger. How dare these people insult his beloved jyuudaime! But he felt that he missed something from their conversation. He felt left out as he did not know what they talked about.

"YOU-!"

"Yes he is a fool to think that we will let him go and leave him alone after all of the hard work just to befriend him. Since that day of group project, I have promised myself to never let him go to unravel all his mysteries," Hana's words soothed Gokudera's anger.

"Ah that day. I still remembered it, Hahaha" said Yamamoto in nostalgia.

"Yes, I also promised myself to make Tsuna-kun smile more and to wipe out that sad expression from his face." Kyoko added.

"Ah, you guys talked about the day you befriended Tsuna-san? Hahi! I like that story. And Tsuna-san is a fool to not count on us." Inputed Haru.

"He cannot get rid of us that easily after almost three years of friendship!" Yamamoto grinned. His statement was followed by several nods and grin from the others.

Tsuna was really a fool to think that his friend would leave him alone in the harsh mafia world. Even in his previous 'life' his friends did not leave him even if they only knew him for a few months. Now they were friends longer, of course their bond and friendship were stronger. They were already loyal to their sky.

Reborn who saw the exchanges smirked from under the safety of his fedora. 'You have good friends, Dame-Tsuna. And they can be your guardian.' He did not even have to interfere.

He then focused his gaze to the teenagers in front of him, hoping that they would be able to answer the puzzle he had. He just got another clue from their conversation. He guessed that Tsuna was telling the truth when he said that he got access to his flames at ten. But what really happened? Why they said it was hard to befriend the brunet? He seemed to easily accept someone, just like the sky he was. Moreover what about the sad expression Kyoko said that seemed to be almost permanent at that time? Was it about bullying problem? No, his gut feeling said it was not that. But then what?

Sawada Tsunayoshi was really full of mystery and just like what Kurokawa Hana said. Reborn would not let him go until he unravel all of his mystery or better, made him spill out all of his secret. Reborn's smirk got widened, sending a chill to whoever looked at him and saw his smirk. Fortunately, no one saw it.

* * *

Tsuna's emotion was in a mess. Not only his emotion, but also his mind. He walked in autopilot. He did not mean to break out the information like that. However, seeing his friends badly injured brought out back the reality of what could really happened in the future. He wanted his friends safe and live a long life, longer than before at least. So if he could prevent them from joining his life in mafia, they would be safer, right? And no tragedy will befall them and kill them, right?

Actually Tsuna had considered this option for a long time. Since he was ten. That was the first reason he did not want to get close to anyone. But when his friends forced their way in, Tsuna gave in as he knew how stubborn his friends could be and he was only one person. Though, it did not mean the thought left his mind. He still thought about it sometime. He loved their company so he also did not want to let them go. It pained him to say those words and goodbye. If his friends decided to cut ties with him, he would let them go although it would kill him inside. He would do anything, anything to ensure their safety.

Then his mind decided to go back to think about the injuries his friends had. It was more serious than he thought, but it helped him to make his point clear. Still, the image made him remembered the gore on his life, the mistakes he had made, and the grief he had experienced. He was sure that tonight he would get another nightmare. He sighed and then looked up, only to see the familiar door in front of him. It seemed that his feet brought him to the only place he could find some solace at this time.

He opened the door. A man was on the other side of the door when the man saw the brunet he immediately threw a soft smile at the brunet. Tsuna let out a small smile in reply.

"Finally decided to visit little old me?" the man said, a teasing smile on his face.

"Yeah," Tsuna replied unenthusiastically.

"What happened?" Hearing the gloomy reply, the man instantly dropped his smile. His expression changed into one of concern.

"Can I sleep here today?" The boy decided to not answer the question. He instead replied with a question of his own.

"Yeah sure. I'll make some tea and then you can start talking. Just wait in the bedroom."

"Thank you, Kawa-Ji. I'll call Kaa-san first."

"You know where the phone is," the older man said then he left the boy to prepare the tea.

Suddenly a bright flame appeared beside him. From inside of it, a shape of a man formed. The man put his hand on the brunet's shoulder and squeezed it in reassurance.

"Tsuna?" The man called softly. Concern and understanding could be heard from his voice.

"Hm?"

"We are here."

"Yeah I know and I'm really grateful that I have you both here." The brunet smiled gently. It was true Tsuna was really grateful he was not really alone in all this time travel mess. He was glad that he still had Kawahira and Giotto who now had become his anchor and had kept him sane. He did not know how he would be without them. He was not sure he could keep his sanity in tact without them. Now he only hoped that they were enough to keep him from feeling the emptiness and that he could do something in return.

* * *

**A/N: Hello guys~ how are you all? Here is another chapter from me. Next chapter will for sure involve the Kokuyo gangs once again and maybe some fight scene if I'm not too lazy to write it xD Fight scene sure is hard :( **

**I've got so many like and followers but why only little reviews :(**

**Okay then, bye for now. See you~ ^0^**


	16. Faults and Failure

It was not Reborn's characteristic to worry unnecessarily. However, when he got home at night and saw no dame-student on his room, he started to worry. He asked the children and all of them said that the brunet had not gone home yet and they had not seen him. The mother of the house seemed not to worry and Reborn did not want to be the one who brought up the issue and created uneccesary worries. For a moment, he almost doubted and regretted his decision of letting Tsuna went alone.

It was almost 11 P.M. and the kids had long gone to their room for sleep, but there was still no Dame-Tsuna. Too many things happened today and even the number one hitman needed time to process all the information and events happened today. The brunet just dropped the bomb on him about his knowledge then three potential guardians were attacked under his watch. Their injuries also worse than he thought. It looked that the perpetrators were quite serious and skilled. The hitman did not like this at all. The events especially the former one put his emotions all over the place and scattered his thoughts. He lost his calm composure. He was seething, for once all did not go along with his plan. Although some were for the better, most were on unknown area which meant it could make the situation hell instead. Too many unpredictable factors and his knowledge of the situation was limited. Knowledge is power and Reborn did not have it currently. He did not like to be powerless. He did not like to proceed his mission with incomplete information. He had long decided that the spies from Vongola were useless, but then his own surveillance showed nothing.

He did not immediately follow his student because he believed on his surveillance system. But now, the boy just disappeared, he went under the radar. At that time it seemed better to leave the boy alone to calm down. He also needed to do his own interrogation to his dame student's friends. After all he just got a lead about the start of the discrepancy on the boy's profile. From what he gathered, the brunet faced depression at ten and tried to distance himself from others. Then, there was this man who often picked up the brunet after the school ended. Who was this mystery man? Was he one of the person who connected the boy to the mafia? The brunet also showed his capability of fighting at ten, then started the sparring and made the others to start learning self-defense and martial arts. Suspicious things which he believed connected to mafia seemed to happen when the brunet was ten. Reborn was sure that it all started that time. Now he just needed to know what really happened.

'Che' He was annoyed, really annoyed. His student was more trouble than he seemed. The brunet was shrouded with mystery, and a dangerous kind one. However, he did not seem to present any danger to Vongola. He could not say so for the brunet's colleagues. They could be from enemy famiglia or traitors for all he knew.

Today really took his energy. He was sure that his dame student was in worse condition. He almost had a breakdown in the hospital room and the confrontation beforehand surely also took a toll to his body and mental health. After the event that took place in the afternoon, the brunet might do something really really stupid.

'Like what he did in the hospital not stupid enough, though at the same time his act showed his potential. He already has what it takes to care and protect his Famiglia,' the hitman scoffed, 'but I still to drill him on tact and thinking first before got overwhelmed by emotion.'

Reborn had no clue where the boy might be as the previous event would eliminate the possibility of him going to his friends' house. Reborn was sure that all of the people that the brunet considered friends or someone he really cared about were inside that hospital room and in this house at the moment. Now the possibility left was the so-called

"Reborn-kun?" The call of his name pulled him from his thoughts and the baby looked at the one who called him.

"Mama?" the baby hitman blinked. It seemed he was more drained than he thought.

"Ara? Why aren't you on bed? It is passed your bedtime, isn't it Reborn-kun?" Nana then walked to the baby hitman who was already in his pajama.

Ah, yes. Sleeping. Sounds like a good idea especially after this long day. But that stupid student of his hadn't come home yet. He could not just go to sleep when his charge was nowhere to be found. He needed more coffee. A boost of energy in the form of a big dose of caffeine was really appreciated right now. He was coffee-deprived so he could not think clearly. He was sure that a cup of coffee would make everything better right now.

"Ah, are you waiting for Tsu-kun?" The sudden words, or at least it seemed sudden to the hitman who once again lost in thoughts, startled the baby, though he did not show it. The baby blinked, in the process of sorting out his thoughts and regained his composure.

"Don't worry. Tsu-kun sleep at his friends. Ah it's the first time since you are here. Are you getting lonely without him? You want to sleep with Mama or with Fuuta and Lambo?" Nana smiled reassuringly at the baby. She put the glass on her hand to the table and then pick up Reborn from the chair.

"Ah, he called Mama?" The woman nodded. "It's okay Mama, I can sleep alone. Then I'll go to sleep."

"Then let me tuck you in," Nana carried the baby to Tsuna's room and tucked him in.

The news that at least someone knew where Tsuna was already put the baby's mind at ease. It did not even occur to the baby to ask who the friend was until he was under the blanket and Nana was already outside the door. He fell asleep within minutes after his body lied down. The emotional burst and overthinking really put a toll on his baby body. Damn his curse and baby body. One more thing he chalked up as a reason to kill the Man in Iron Hat for.

* * *

The man was in his mid-twenties. At a glance especially on street, many would dismiss him as someone unimportant or insignificant. He did not like to attract attention when it was unnecessary. However, when he wanted it, he could attract all eyes in the room only with small gesture. He could make his presence alone be noticed and attract the attention he wanted. He stood tall despite his small stature. His calm and warm aura made people relaxed and comfortable around him. His person was oozing with confidence and regality. Smile was often seen on his face especially when he was in the company of his beloved friends and family.

The man was respected and had many people who followed him and looked up to him despite his young age. The man got ambitions and goals and he had the support of his friends, family, and subordinates. He was a boss, no, he was a leader. He had many loyal friend who would gladly give their life for him and he would gladly do the same. He was loved for he loved and cared for each person who would accept his love. He was greatly respected by many even by his enemies. He was protective. He was kind yet firm. He would not hesitate in eliminating threats to his loved one, but he believed in second chance and redemption. Many said that his kindness and his forgiving nature as well as his insistence on seeing the good side of the people first might be his downfall. And perhaps this was true.

The said man currently was inside his office, standing in front of the window. He seemed to be lost in thought and was looking at the sky as if he was expecting that the sky would give him the answer to his questions and problems. His expression was grim like something really bad had happened. He indeed felt something really bad had happened or at least soon it would happen. His intuition kept bugging him. He was distressed. He could feel that a war was in the horizon. He tried to ignore the headache due to his intuition that kept raising the alarm on his head.

His thoughts were disrupted by the ringtone of his phone. His headache got worse. The alarm on his head got louder. He knew before he answered the phone that he would not like a single thing from the conversation. Something really bad had happened. He felt like a rock had been dropped on his stomach. The rock had gotten heavier after he picked up the phone.

His face got paler when he finally heard the voice on the other side of the phone and he tried to gain his composure. But he failed. Rage took over him. How dare they, how dare they hurt someone he loved, someone under his protection. His protective side was on the rise. Within seconds he took several actions. He picked up another phone which was only used in case of emergency. He immediately went out of the room as at the same time he wrote short message on the phone and pressed send. At the same time he also kept talking to the phone. He tried to keep rage from his voices, and tried to show assurance, trying to convince that everything would be fine. Who he tried to convince, he himself did not know, though he had a feeling that he just tried to convince himself.

He tried to think through his rage. He could not let anger impair his judgement. For sure whoever the bastard who did this had detailed information and had planned accordingly. He had not known the number that called him but he knew the voice who called him. It indicated that the situation was really severe for the caller did not have their own phone or any emergency measures that had been put in such situation, such as the belt which would give distress signal upon touch, had been rendered useless. His grip on the phone tightened. He listened carefully to the voice that was giving him direction. The voice was slurred and getting softer as if each breath being taken was really painful. The caller was on the brink of unconsciousness or worse, death. The man fastened his pace. He was running now. He did not take notice of the startled look of the people he passed nor the shout of his name. He kept talking to the phone, trying to make the caller stayed awake.

He got into a car, still with the phone on his right ear. He tilted his head to make the phone stayed put when he started the car and put the gear in. He prayed and hoped, wishing that he was not too late. However, he had a sinking feeling that was not the case. Oh how he really hoped, that just this time his intuition was wrong.

In roughly ten minutes of law-breaking and insane driving through small alleys, he arrived on his destination. It was an abandoned warehouse. Typical of this kind of situation. The phone call has ended five minutes ago, which drove him to drive faster. Now, he knew that he should take caution and not immediately barge in. But he threw caution out of the window. He was in a race against time and he was sure he did not want to lose. So instead he barged through the front door and his eyes immediately swept throught the room.

The room was littered with body and blood. He continued his search until his gaze fell upon two familiar bodies which was laying together in one corner. A boy and a girl. His breath stopped for a moment. He knew who they were. He immediately ran to them. The boy was grasping the girl hand. His wounds seemed worse than the girl. Both seemed unconscious.

Red. The boy previously white shirt with black pattern on it was turning red. The red was getting darker, showing that it had been quite a time since the shirt was tainted with blood. The man kneeled next to the boy and held his wrist looking for a pulse. It was there, but really vain.

"Lambo…?" The man called softly, hoping the boy would open his eyes. "Lambo, please wake up. Lambo, please open your eyes."

The boy's eyes fluttered open slowly, but his gaze was unseeing.

"..Y-oung V-ongola…? ..t-hey…. loo….ing…..tri.n...set….so..sorry... .. I-pin," he murmured softly.

"Hush.. Hush.. It's okay. Ipin is also okay. You have protected her. I'm proud of you. Help is coming. Stay awake for me, okay. You can sleep later. Be a good boy and I'll give you grape candy and grape juice later. Okay?" The man tried to soothe the boy. Golden flame embraced him and it was extended to the younger boy. The flame was soothing both of them. It was easing the younger's pain. He knew help was coming soon for he had sent the message previously, but he also knew the boy could not wait for much longer.

"…Tsuna-nii…?" The boy grasped the man's hand. He tried to put a little pressure on the grasp, trying to make sure that he was not hallucinating.

"I'm here, Lambo. I'm here."

"I.. took them all… Lightning rod avert the damage…" The brunet really wished that right now he had sun flame. He wished that he could do something to save his younger brother. He was really determined to save his brother. Without his realizing his flame got brighter and the golden flame was tinged with yellow. But he was late, all the flame could do was easing the pain, helping the boy to voice out his last goodbye.

"Tsuna-nii… I'm g-glad.. to..meet you… Love.. u.. Tell.. the other.. love.. them.." Tears were falling down both of their eyes. The older one could not hold back his tears. Hearing the declaration of love, the man choked on his tears.

"I-I… I love you too Lambo. We all love you. You should tell them yourselves. So please stay awake." The man now was hugging the boy, trying to share his warm to keep the younger body from getting colder. "P-p-please.. Lambo… please.. You have outlived me before so you can do it again… p-please…" The man begged in tears. He remembered how this boy previously had lived longer in certain future scenario. How he had outlived him and his friends. Surely the boy could do it again, couldn't he?

"…Sorry… Lambo-sama.. can't.. grant.. this wish.." the boy seemed to smile like he was telling a joke. It was an inside joke instead, referring to their past. However instead of laughter, the cries got louder. The man was a sobbing mess. "S-sorry.. Tsuna-nii.. Can't stay awake… 'nymore… but… wanna… see… ur smile….last… time… please…"

The man knew how much important this was for the younger. He forced his tears to stop, but he could not. However he succeeded in calming his sob. Finally he could gather his strength to smile through the tears. He tried to give his best smile. His beloved little brother deserved that.

"T-thanks…B-bye.. l-love.. you.. Tsuna-nii.." Then the boy closed his eyes. A peaceful smile was still etched on his face. At the same time the man broke down. He screamed out and cried. He let out all of his feeling in his scream. He held the boy closer and hugged him tightly. His knuckle was getting white but he did not take notice. He was numb. Physical pain was nothing compared to his emotional wound.

Something inside of him cracked. He felt like something was ending. It was the end of something.

But he was wrong.

It was the beginning.

The beginning of beginning of his misery.

The lightning indicated the start of a storm. The cloud had gathered. It was getting darker.

The youngest's death, his little brother, was only the first. There were many who would follow soon.

* * *

"Is it time soon?"

"Guess so. Both parties seem ready to take action. How's your side?"

"Same. Varia has made their move."

Silence. Both seemed to think about something.

"This time will be more painful."

"Yeah, but we'll be there for him." A pause. "Will you tell him? And the Gesso?"

"I'll tell the Mare. But I don't thin I need to tell him. The Vindice will make their move soon."

"So what now? We wait?"

"Yeah, we just wait."

* * *

The scene changed. And changed again. Again and again. But all were similar. Blood and more blood. His hands was getting scarlet. No amount of water and soap would get rid of the red off of his hands. The differences were only whose blood it was. After lightning, the cloud followed. Then at the same time the storm came, the rain fell. The mists at the end of the storm still covered the sun and the sky. But then when the mists vanished, the sun was in the process of setting down, leaving the sky dark. Time moved but he was kept still in the darkness.

The scene changed again. He was fighting a man. The house behind him was burning. The smell of burning wood and blood tainted the night fresh air. The billows of smoke disrupted the visibility and the large amount of smoke being inhaled hurted his lunges. Around him bodies were scattered on the ground, merely unconscious, on the brink of death or just simply dead. Both friends and enemies were there. After all this was war. He knew that he just lost another friends, another families, another loved ones. But he could not mourn yet. There would be time to count the body tolls later and then mourning. Now he still had to finish fighting the man in front of him.

His enemy pulled the trigger from the gun he picked up from the nearby corpse. Still, the brunet was faster and able to dodge the bullet. After all it was between experienced flame-user with someone who never gained access to their flames. The brunet in a few seconds was already in front of his opponent. The brunet's eyes were ice cold, promising death. His right hand strucked through the other man's stomach. The sudden hit made the gun fell from the previous tigh grasp. The force pushed the victim of such vicious hit took several involuntary steps back. The strawberry blond haired man –_foe, threats to his family, soon to be dead man _– coughed up blood. Splashed of blood smeared the tip of his shoulder-length hair. However, instead of saving his breath – though it would still be useless act – the blond man decided to use his last breath to taunt his killer. His lips twitched up, shaping a malicious grin. His eyes lit up with delight malice. Sinister laugh escaped from his mouth.

"Vongola Decimo! How do you feel?" The man did not wait for the answer for it was a rhetorical questions. "How do you feel to be responsible for their death? To own up for your mistake by their death?" The brunet's eyes narrowed. Another laugh.

"I know something that you don't." A pause. The man was waiting for a response. He did not get it. The brunet kept his silence. The blond man did not give up. He just continued as if he got some answer.

"All happens because of you. Your fault. It's all YOUR FAULT! HAHAHAHA! HOW DO YOU FEEL?" The words stabbed through the brunet's heart. He knew he shouldn't listen to the taunt of his enemy. But deep inside, he had been thinking for that possibility for some time. He did not show how the words affected him. From the outward view, the brunet seemed detached and just stared coldly. His poker face had been perfected after practice for years.

"Have you ever thought how it started? The reason of all of these?" The blond's eyes gleamed with wickedness, seemed happy to voice out his last thought. He let out another malicious laugh.

"Your action that KILLED them! MURDERED them! Ugh-!" This time the pause was because he coughed up blood again. Then he swiped his mouth and continued his taunt.

"HA! The Decimo who vowed to protect is the one that-" The man did not finish his sentence. Instead, he was screaming in pain. His body was scorching. His body was burning. He was burned alive. The Decimo finally had enough and burned him with his flame. The man forced a smirk through the pain. He let out another laugh. The laugh was mixed with his scream of pain, creating a voice that would only able to be created from a deranged man.

"Think! Think of what you've done Decimo! Your Fault! YOUR FAULT!" Another long scream and deranged laugh, before the voice stopped suddenly because the flame was getting hotter suddenly and in a few seconds nothing left other than a pile of ashes.

Seeing the ashes, finally the Decimo fell on his knees. His gaze was blank. He did not know why he listened to his taunts for such a long time. Perhaps he needed to hear it. He needed someone to say it on his face. He already knew somehow he was responsible. He knew he had made some mistake in the past. He did not know what kind but he had a feeling that somehow his past actions led him and his family to this situation. Moreover, his goddamn intuition did not reject this notion. There was even a subtle nudge somewhere that it was really the situation. His apprehension worsened. Tears streamed down his face.

The scene blurred, but instead of changing like the previous situation, the brunet remained in the dark. He could not see anything. He was alone and cold. The smell of burning wood and burnt body as well as blood lingered in the air. He also could still feel the stickiness of the blood on his hands. He was sure if he could see, his hands were red. The man was now a child again for indeed he was a lost child who was lost in his thoughts, regret, and sorrow.

"Oya! What happened here?" A voice startled the boy from his thoughts. His head snapped to the direction of the voice. Finally he could see something. His eyes widened. It was something unexpected. "What? The first time I visited you here and you have such a morbid and dark dream?" The newcomer spoke again.

"What are you doing here?! How can you be here?!" The boy shouted. His emotions were all over the place. Rage, fear, panic, shame, sorrow, regret, loneliness, self-loathing. He could not retain his mask.

"Oya! Why such a hostility? Easy, Tsunayoshi-kun." The newcomer spoke nonchalantly, ignoring the fact that his presence was unwelcomed. Instead he was trying to look around. "Why is it so dark? Hmm.. Is something burning? And is that blood I smell? Oya, what have you done, Tsunayoshi-kun?" The voice was teasing, a grin could be heard from the tone.

"How long have you been here? What did you see?" The boy raised his voice. He was afraid that the unexpected guest would see something that was not for his eyes to see.

"Get out!" The boy shouted, ordering the newcomer to go away.

"Oya, I've just come here though. And so far I've seen nothing interesting." The guest was saying the truth for he just finally gained the access. It was the first time he could establish such connection, previously something like a barrier blocked him. It was the first time he was able to visit the boy with his own will. Usually the boy was the one who visited him or if he visited it was because the boy invited him and made some access. Just now he saw some way and he could not ignore such opportunity to have a surprise visit. But what he was seen was something unusual. The boy, who usually was confident and cheerful, was on his knees in the darkness. The aura around him was dark and cold. The boy was crying. There were also those smells. The guest tried to analyze the situation.

"Or did something happened already? Was I late? It ended already?" The guest raised his eyebrow. He was fishing for more information. However the boy was not in a friendly mood. The temperature experienced a sudden drop. When the boy gave his reply, he was not shouting. He enunciated and emphasized his reply word by word. He spoke icily.

"Rokudo. Mukuro. Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here!" The brunet gave an icy glare at the intruder. The voice and stare made Mukuro gulped and shivered but he decided to put up a brave front. Mukuro instead smirked.

"Oya, you really hostile today, Tsunayoshi-kun. Perhaps mafia blood really runs deep in you. Perhaps you have really been tainted by the darkness." The illusionist pushed again. Now the brunet was trembling in anger.

"I said. GET OUT!" The brunet snapped and immediately the world around them was crumbling down. The Mist was forced back to wherever the hell he was previously. At the same time, the brunet was also waking up in the real world with a gasp. Tears were still running down on his face. His gaze and mind were shrouded with sleep and confusion.

The brunet felt a pair of hands swiping his tears off with their thumbs. He flinched. Then he was engulfed with calming embrace as the pair of hands then dragged his body up to a sitting position to embrace him. Safe. He felt safe. He was safe here. He remembered where he was. He took a deep breath and let the hug calmed him down. He hugged back. They needed no words. The silence was comfortable and they understood each other. They stayed in the position for several minutes. The silence was broken by a newcomer, but it was not unwelcomed.

"So I guess the barrier has broken?" The two did not let go of the embrace. They just adjusted their position to look at the newcomer.

"Guess so." The brunet answered. His voice was hoarse with sleep. He cleared his throat. A glass of water was given to him and he drank it. "Though I already expected it what with happened today, er, yesterday? That's why I decided to sleep here." The boy sounded tired. He let out a sigh.

"Though, there was unexpected and unwelcomed guest." He added. Immediately the arms around him tightened and the body tensed up. He also saw the man in front of him tensed up.

"Who?" asked the man beside him.

"Rokudo Mukuro." They were still tense. "He said he didn't really see anything. I think he told the truth but I…" He trailed off. He then wetted his lips which was dry. "I.. I.. lost control." He whispered. They fell into another silence. However, the same man broke the silence again.

"Want me to renew the barrier and add another layer?" The brunet nodded in answer. The man in front of him then walked closer and reached out his right hand to touch the brunet's forehead. Indigo flame flared up from the hand and the flame was absorbed by the brunet. Few minutes passed before finally the hand was retracted. The brunet felt something in his mind was going away and being locked.

"There, finished. This is stronger than before. Both Mammon and Mukuro or other mists won't be able to break in. You also don't need to be afraid of nightmare in the presence of Reborn."

"Thank you Kawa-ji. You are the best." The brunet smiled, appreciating the gift for indeed it was a gift for him.

"I thought you said I am the best, Tsuna," piped a voice from beside him. The tone was teasing.

"Erm.." The boy startled for a moment, but then replied confidently, "Yes, both of you are the best on your role. The best that I have." They understood what he meant. _Best friend, uncle, grandftather, family, companion, protector – whatever the role they decided to take for him._ They shared a smile.

All was well. For now.

* * *

Reborn did not know whether he should be worried or angry. His dame student skipped school and hadn't come back home. The sun was about to set and still no sign of his student. The nerve of this boy. When he came home, Reborn would definitely give him punishment and increased his tor-training. He would also demand an explanation, though the boy not only had to give him but also others would also demand one.

All of his friends were already waiting in the living room, with the exception of Hibari who was sleeping on the roof. They were worried for him. Reborn did not ask them, but they seemed to have the same ideas and one by one they came to the Sawada residence. The injuried one was also there for they were already healed. With Reborn's sun flame and Shamal there, it only took several hours for the recovery. Reborn and Shamal did their magic when all the visitors had gone home and the patients were put to sleep. In the morning, they were as good as new. And thanks for their obliviousness or stupidity – same differences – they did not think anything about it.

Nana and the younger children was out to buy more groceries for dinner. She decided to treat all of Tsuna friends dinner. She would be busy with dinner preparation. Therefore perhaps they would get the privacy for the talk. As Tsuna had let out the cat out of the bag, Reborn could say his piece of mind in front the other teenagers, not that he couldn't previously. After all who could forbid the best hitman for what he wanted to do. Reborn scoffed.

The teenagers have been waiting for ten minutes when the front door opened and a familiar voice said 'Tadaima' softly. In a split second Reborn's feet were on a brunet's head and in another second the said head was touching the ground with the shout of 'Ittai'. The brunet then rubbed the spot where he was kicked and also where it bumped against the floor.

"Reborn what was that?" The brunet asked from the ground to the baby who was now standing on the top of shoe rack.

"You skipped school Dame-Tsuna, and you didn't tell me where you are." Reborn said coldly. "Your punishment will be delivered later for now you have guests."

The boy processed the sentence for a moment. "HIEE~! PUNISHMENT? Please don't tor-trai.. wait guests?" The hitman decided to give his slow student a push. He jumped to the brunet's head and pulled his hair to move his head to the direction where he could see his friends at who right now were already on the hallway became the spectactors of the incident. The brunet grimaced and closed his eyes for a moment as a reflex to the pain. But when he opened his eyes he was surprised. His eyes widened.

"..Guys..?" He seemed lost and confused. He did not know what they were doing there. He sat frozen on the floor in the small space where they took off their shoes and changed it to the inside slippers before coming inside a Japanese house.

Reborn decided to induce more pain to get the boy's attention and dragged him out from his confusion. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Drag you from your stupidity," said Reborn toneless. "Now, a Mafia boss shouldn't sit on the floor. A mafia boss also should treat his guest well. Now be a good host, Dame-Tsuna!" Reborn pulled the boy hair again, forcing him to stand up.

"HIIEEEEE! Okay, okay." Responded the tortured boy. He then walked to his guests and greeted awkwardly. "Um.. Hello guys?" His greeting seemed to break the trance they were in and immediately many of them talked almost at the same time expressing their worries and questions on where he was and what he did.

"Um.. Er.." Tsuna did not know how to answer the simultaneous questions. So instead he said, "How about we go inside first? The living room?" His friends agreed and each of them searched for a place to settle. In one of the corner of the living room, Hibari was already waiting and no one approached his corner due to the glare he decided to give his own of explanation instead of waiting his friends asking the incomprehensible questions.

"So after what happened yesterday…." Tsuna trailed off awkwardly, inhaled a deep breath and continued, "I went away to calm myself and…" Tsuna paused, shifted his foot feeling uncomfortable, "And I decided to think up some theories and actions based on the provided information." His statement was followed with another outburst of worries and questions.

"Tsuna, please don't tell me you did something stupid," that was Hana.

"Of course I don't," Tsuna huffed, insulted by his friends distrust in his action and rationality. "I was just looking up where their basecamp is and decided to prepare today before going there tomorrow." Another outburst. However, this time it was stopped by the hitman himself.

"Where?"

"Kokuyo Land. It is an abandoned theme park. They wore Kokuyo uniform, didn't they?"

"And what have you prepared, Tsuna-kun?" asked Kyoko.

"Umm… training?" answered Tsuna uncertainly.

"We're coming with you tomorrow, Tsuna," said Takeshi.

"But…"

"Hahi! We have made our decision, Tsuna-kun."

"YEAH! JOIN THE MAFIA TO THE EXTREME!"

"But," Tsuna tried to protest again.

"As his right-hand, I'll follow Tsuna-sama."

"We have trained together Tsuna," Kyoko insisted.

Tsuna was reluctant but he knew his friends. They were debating for some more time then Tsuna relented after making some compromise. He still did not want to let the girls joined his world this soon. He wanted to retain their innocent as long as possible. The girls would not be in the front line. They would not go but instead they would protect their base, protect the younger children. Tsuna knew this time there would be no hostage situation as the Kokuyo team did not team up with those criminals such as Bird. But he did not know if his luck told the other things. After all fate seemed to love him so much.

All the time Reborn was smirking while Leon stirred in his sleep.

* * *

It seemed fate really loved Tsuna. Too bad. He did not return the feeling for at the time like this he strongly disliked fate and also his luck. For whatever reasons and mysteries this world held, almost similar occurences happened this time. Or perhaps it was just Rokudo Mukuro the evil pineapple. It turned out that the illusionist met those same people. They were on the run when Mukuro met them and the manipulative bastard decided to hire them or perhaps just manipulated them. Fortunately the girls and the children this time were more prepared and protected.

At the moment they have reached the final stage. Mukuro was about to face Rokudo Mukuro. Now let the show began.

"Kufufufufu~ Sawada Tsunayoshi," acknowledged Mukuro, "I've been waiting for you." Tsuna did not give a verbal reply. He just took out his glove, custom made by Talbot, and wore it. Mukuro then pulled out a gun but instead of pointing it at the brunet he pointed it at his own head.

"Suicide?" said Hayato from beside Tsuna. His condition was much worse than what happened in Tsuna's past. In fact, all of them sans Reborn, for the obvious reason, and Tsuna was in worse condition. They were fighting all out with similar level of strength and capability due of more training. The fights took longer time. Despite more training and preparation this time, Tsuna's side still at disadvantage for Mukuro group had more experiences and they were mafia trained. In addition, Mukuro himself was a flame-user though his followers had not gained the access to their flame yet.

"Mukuro, I know what you're going to do. It is forbidden and you know that if you used it the 'black police' may arrest you. Furthermore it's useless. Just be a man and face me directly," said Tsuna coldly. Mukuro laughed at the reply while Reborn's eyes narrowed. Another thing that his student was not supposed to know and what he was talking about. Meanwhile Hayato and Bianchi were surprised and confused at Tsuna's tone.

"Kufufufu~ Fine~" Mukuro threw his gun away. "Without the bullet I can still possess. The game has just becoming more interesting. Now let's play and let me possess you, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

'Possession Bullet,' thought Reborn, 'how Tsuna knew it beforehand?'

"First Realm, Naraka Path, The Realm of Hell," The kanji of one appeared on Mukuro's right eye. Pillars of fire appeared all around the room and the temperature rose. "Was it fire? Was something burning? What was burning?" said Mukuro others it would mean nothing but Tsuna knew Mukuro was asking about yesterday event.

"You're familiar with fire, Tsunayoshi-kun," it was a statement. Still no answer. Suddenly pillar of fire shot out from under the brunet's feet, but he was able to dodge it.

"Show me your flame, Tsunayoshi-kun." Another pillar of fire shot out from the ground. The brunet leaped off and ran to the illusionist. He dodged each attempt to burn him. Then he jumped and stretched out his leg to kick. Mukuro bended his body to dodge and then jumped away. Tsuna did not let go of his prey and gave a chase. He moved faster than what the illusionist expected and suddenly the brunet was behind him in the process of giving a punch to his spine with flame covered fist. The illusionist tried to dodge but he was only able to averted the punch to his side. The punch threw him away to the ground.

Mukuro stood up. Then the kanji on his eyes changed to four and his right eye was cowered with mist flames. "Asura path, Realm of Demons," he whispered. Then he leaped to meet Tsuna's punches and kicks. They were engaged in a flurry dance of fists and kicks, jumping, leaping, dodging, and attacking. The spectators were impressed with their movements.

"Kufufufu~ How could you able to throw me away?" asked Mukuro. It might be interpreted as a question referring to the first punch, but Tsuna knew better. They were still talking about the other day's incident.

Tsuna shrugged, "I just can," and he threw another punch to Mukuro's collarbone but his fist was caught. He then tried to kick Mukuro's ankle and the other boy jumped off to dodge, releasing Tsuna's fist.

"You have other mist," Mukuro whispered only for Tsuna's ears. A punch to the brunet's side.

"I have friends," replied Tsuna, stepping away.

"What are you hiding? What happened?" inquired Mukuro again as he parried the blows from Tsuna.

"Stop invading my privacy!" hissed Tsuna, giving more strength on his punch. The punch met Mukuro's chest. Tsuna threw another punch to the illusionist stomach. The strong blows made Mukuro fell to the ground. Tsuna just stood hovering above Mukuro's body.

"Please, stop asking. It is better for you and everyone to just some things unknown," said the brunet softly. "The fight ends now," he continued louder making others could hear his voice now. Tsuna then took a step back and looked at his tutor.

"Reborn," he addressed the hitman, "I want him as my mist guardian." Tsuna's statement was received with shock and surprised from others and also indignation from certain silver-haired puppy. The said hitman just raised his eyebrow and stared at the brunet. His dark orbs were searching. He knew they were talking in the middle of their fights, but Reborn could not really hear what they were talking about. It was almost like they knew each other beforehand. Reborn's eyes narrowed at the thought.

Further protests, questions and discussion however was stopped when the room temperature dropped. Gloomy and dark aura suddenly surrounded the room. The occupants of the room got tense. Their gut feeling was screaming danger. Their body was frozen in fear. Black figures appeared from a black warp or black hole. Their faces and body were covered in bandages. Even their eyes were covered by bandage. Thus they were faceless and their personal identities were impposible to be identified. They wore black coat and black tophat. There were three of them, one on the right side of Tsuna, one on his left, and the last was on his behind.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." The voice was from behind the brunet. The voice was dark and low also oozing with authority and strength. "Please go with us." The one behind him then reached to his shoulder and the one on his sides grabbed his arms. Tsuna did not resist them. He knew if he resisted they would only use their chains on him. One of them then raised his hand, about to open their port.

Reborn was frozen. He did not know what just happened. Fortunately he was able to move his mouth before they were gone. How the heck his student had gained the attention of the devils themselves?

"Wait," The black figures stopped their movement. They then turned to looked at the baby.

"Sun Arcobaleno," said the one behind Tsuna, acknowledging the baby's presence. He seemed to be the leader of the three.

"What my student did? He's Vongola heir but still a civilian. He doesn't fall under your jurisdiction." Although Reborn himself feared dealings with the demons of mafia, he could not just let them took his students without reasons. Tsuna was his charge and responsibility.

"It isn't your business."

"It is. For he is my charge and under Vongola protection," Reborn said, his voice did not let out the turmoil he was feeling inside.

"It is for justice," was the ambiguous reply. "Now please excuse us." A black portal which seemed like a black hole appeared out of thin air.

"Tsuna, you have promised us." To everyone's surprise it was Mukuro who exclaimed. Tsuna smiled softly in reply.

"I'll be back," he said in conviction. Then he along with his three escorts vanished, leaving the room heavy with tension, fear and confusion.

* * *

**A/N: Hello guys, I'M BAAAACK~! Sorry again for the long wait. Thank you for your patience and support. I really love your reviews. I am really thankful to those who reviewed, followed, and favorited my story. I have difficulties in writing this chapter hehehe. But then suddenly it just wrote itself. I don't even know what I wrote .-. Sorry for the 'barely-there' fight scene, my weak attempt at inserting fighting scene.**

**And now some pieces of the puzzle were added. Therefore please review^o^ Luv you~**

**Hopefully you like this chapter.**

**Bye for now. **


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